Key takeaways
- The Lawyers’ Compensation Act (RVG) regulates legal fees in Germany. But you can also make an individual fee agreement with the lawyer.
- Legal fees depend on the amount in dispute, the resolution method (out-of-court and in-court), and the case’s complexity.
- The losing party pays the in-court legal fees of the winner.
This is how you do it
- Get a free initial assessment to find answers to your questions.
- Calculate the legal costs to determine if pursuing the dispute is worth it. You can use the legal cost calculators for it.
- Get legal protection insurance to cover the legal costs. In our comparison and test, we found legal insurance plans of Arag*, KS-Auxilia*, and WVG the best.
- Get a written confirmation of coverage from your legal protection insurer before hiring a law firm.
Table of Contents
Whether you have a dispute or need legal advice, you need a competent lawyer. The good thing is you can calculate the lawyer’s costs, court fees, and any other legal costs in advance.
Based on it, you can decide if starting a legal dispute is worth it.
Legal costs in Germany
The Lawyers’ Compensation Act (Rechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetz (RVG)) regulates lawyers’ fees in Germany. However, the lawyers can also create an individual fee agreement (Honorarvereinbarungen in German) with the client.
The legal fee varies based on three main factors
- Is it an initial consultation
- Do you need lawyer support to resolve the issue out of court
- Is the dispute going to court
Lawyer’s fees calculation based on the Lawyers’ Compensation Act (RVG)
Per RVG, a lawyer’s fee is calculated based on the amount or value in dispute. A value in dispute is the monetary assessment of the subject matter of the dispute.
For example, you met with an accident that was not your fault. The repair cost is 5,000 €. In this case, the amount in dispute is 5,000 €.
Similarly, someone owes you money for your services. In this situation, the amount owed is the value in dispute.
There are situations when it’s difficult to calculate the value in dispute. But there are methods defined in the law to calculate the amount in dispute.
What is a lawyer’s fee for out-of-court disputes in Germany?
The out-of-court support from the lawyer can be
- writing a letter to the opponent on your behalf,
- meeting with the opponent on your behalf,
- calling the opponent on your behalf, etc.
Here are the steps to calculate the lawyer’s cost for out-of-court disputes.
- Determine the amount in dispute.
- Based on the amount in dispute, check the resulting base fee (Geschäftsgebühr). You can check the fee on the Federal Ministry of Justice website.
- The actual lawyer’s fee is a factor of the base fee. The factor is determined based on the effort of the lawyer to conclude the dispute.
- The factor varies from 0 to 4.5. You can check which factor applies in which situation on the Federal Ministry of Justice website.
The lawyers, on average, use the factor of 1.3 to calculate the legal costs. Lawyers can use the higher factor only if the case is complex and requires much time.
Moreover, lawyers must justify the reason for using the higher factor.
Legal fee calculation example
Suppose the lawyer spent two hours dealing with the case. The attorney had a telephone conversation with the opponent and wrote two letters.
The table below shows how the lawyer’s fee is calculated in this situation.
| Value in dispute | 5000 € |
| Base fee per RVG | 334 € |
| “Factor” based on the lawyer’s effort | 1.3 |
| Lawyer’s fee | 434,2 € (334 * 1.3) |
| Flat post fee | 20 € |
| Sub Total | 454,2 € |
| 19% VAT | 86,3 € |
| Total legal fee | 540,5 € |
NOTE: If you and the lawyer have made an individual fee arrangement, then legal costs per RVG don’t apply. The individual fee arrangement is usually more expensive.
The table below shows the out-of-court legal fees in different scenarios.
| Amount in dispute | Base fee | Factor | Lawyer’s fee (Base fee x Factor) | Total legal fee (20 € flat postal charge + 19% VAT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5000 € | 334 € | 1.3 | 434,2 € | 540.5 € |
| 11,000 € | 666 € | 0.5 | 333 € | 420,07 € |
| 19,000 € | 770 € | 2 | 1540 € | 1832,6 € |
What are lawyers and court fees for in-court representation in Germany?
We’ll cover only the legal fees involved in the civil proceedings. The legal fees are calculated differently for administrative, labor, and criminal proceedings.
Suppose the dispute is not resolved out-of-court. It’ll go to the court for the judgment.
In this case, you pay the lawyer to represent you in court and the court fees. Let’s see how they are calculated.
Lawyer’s fee
Per RVG, the lawyer’s fee comprises the following costs in a civil proceeding.
- Procedural fee (Verfahrensgebühr) – Factor of (0 to 4.5) on the base fee. Lawyers usually use a factor of 1.3.
- Appointment fee (Terminsgebühr) – Factor of (0 to 2.5) on the base fee. Lawyers usually use a factor of 1.2.
- Settlement fee (Vergleichsgebühr) if the lawsuit ends in a settlement. It’s generally a factor of 1.5 on the base fee.
The lawyer’s fee you paid already (pre-trial costs) will be offset against the procedural fee. However, only 50% to 70% is offset.
In civil proceedings, the loser usually covers the in-court lawyer’s fee of the winner. The lawyer’s fee for both parties is calculated in the same way.
Courts fee
The court costs consist of the
- court fees (Gerichtlichen Gebühren) and
- court expenses (Gerichtlichen Auslagen).
Court fees are charged based on the value in dispute. You can check the court fee table here (Appendix 2 of the GKG). The base court fees are multiplied by a factor (0 to 5) to get the court costs.
In contrast, court expenses are based on the expenses incurred by the court in the individual case.
Court expenses can be the costs of compensating witnesses, experts, interpreters, translators, etc. It also includes the compensation of honorary judges and postal and telecommunications costs.
Example of lawyer and court fees for out-of-court and in-court proceedings
| Amount in dispute | 11,000 € | |
|---|---|---|
| Base fee (Geschäftsgebühr) (per Federal Ministry of Justice website) | 666 € | |
| OUT-OF-COURT FEE | ||
| “Factor” based on the lawyer’s effort | 1.3 | |
| Lawyer’s fee | 865.8 € (666 € x 1.3) | |
| Flat postal cost | 20 € | |
| Subtotal | 885.8 € | |
| 19% VAT | 168.3 € | |
| Total out-of-court cost | 1054.1 € (x) (885.8 + 168.3) | |
| IN-COURT FEE | ||
| Lawyer fee | Your lawyer’s fee | The opposite party’s lawyer’s fee |
| Procedural fee | 865.8 € (666 € x 1.3) | 865.8 € (666 € x 1.3) |
| Offset lawyer’s fee from pre-trial | -432.9 € (Offsetting 50% cost: 865.8 / 2) | 0 |
| Procedural fee to be paid | 432.9 € | 865.8 € |
| Appointment fee | 799.2 (666 € x 1.2) | 799.2 (666 € x 1.2) |
| Postal flat rate | 20 € | 20 € |
| Subtotal: | 1252.1 € (432.9 + 799.2 + 20) | 1685 € |
| VAT of 19% | 237.9 € | 320.15 € |
| Total lawyer’s fee for in-court representation | 1490 € (y) (1252.1 + 237.9) | 2005.15 € (p) |
| Court cost | ||
| Base fee (per Federal Ministry of Justice website) | 295 € | |
| Factor | 3 | |
| Total court fee | 885 € (z) (295 * 3) | |
| Own cost risk | 3429,1 € (x + y + z = 1054.1 + 1490 + 885) | |
| Total cost risk | 5434.25 € (x + y + z + p = 1054.1 + 1490 + 885 + 2005.15) |
Free initial assessment
Free initial assessment is an offer provided by law firms. It helps the clients find the answer to a legal question or know if pursuing a legal dispute is worth it.
But as it’s free, don’t expect much from this call. Here is what free initial assessment usually includes.
- A short call to answer your questions.
- Check whether you can assert the legal rights.
- Know the legal costs and risks. Hence, comprehending if it’s worth pursuing the legal dispute.
Free initial assessment doesn’t include the following.
- The lawyer will not verify or read the documents related to the dispute.
- Lawyer won’t spend more than 30 mins of their time in the free assessment.
- The lawyer won’t send a letter or call the opposing party on your behalf.
How do you get a free initial assessment?
There are two ways to get a free initial assessment in Germany.
- Contact the law firm specializing in the field in which you need support.
- Describe your situation online on lawyer recruitment portals.
Law firms
- Many law firms in Germany offer free initial assessment. So, Google the lawyers who specialize in the field you need support.
- Check the law firms’ websites to see if they offer free initial assessments.
Lawyer search portals
- Yourxpert and Klugo* are portals where you can find and hire a lawyer.
- You can describe your situation online on their website and get a free initial assessment.
After the initial assessment, the lawyers may send you an offer for a fee-based consultation.
How do you know the legal costs before starting a legal dispute?
Here are the ways to know the legal costs.
- Contact a lawyer and ask about the total cost of a legal dispute. Ensure you ask the lawyer for both out-of-court and in-court costs. Moreover, get the legal cost you may bear if you lose.
- You can calculate the legal costs yourself, as explained above.
- You can use one of the legal cost calculators available online.
Legal cost calculators
There are many legal cost calculators in Germany. Some of them are.
Both calculators are in German. But the Google Translate plugin does a decent job of translating.
Who owes the lawyer’s fees – the client or the losing opponent?
The client owes the lawyer’s fees irrespective of the outcome of the legal dispute. However, you have a right to claim the legal costs from the opponent if you win the legal dispute.
NOTE: In legal disputes related to labor law, the losing opponent is not liable to pay the winner’s legal fees. It’s made like this to protect the employee from paying the hefty legal fees of the employer’s lawyers if the employee loses.
Legal protection insurance
Many times, it’s difficult to assess the value of the dispute or tell how much the legal costs will be. In such situations, it’s tough for you to determine whether to pursue a legal dispute.
But if you have legal protection insurance, you don’t have to worry about the legal costs. Your legal insurance provider will cover the lawyer’s and court costs.
Always contact your legal insurance company before hiring a lawyer. You must get a written confirmation letter from the insurer stating they will cover the legal costs.
This way, you won’t be stuck with legal bills that your insurer won’t cover.
In our comparison and test, we found that Arag*—Aktiv-Premium, WGV—Optimal PBV, and KS-Auxilia*—Jurprivat are the best legal insurance plans.
Unfortunately, no legal insurance provider in Germany offers services in English. Insurance agents like Feather* and Getsafe* offer basic English support. However, when you need legal advice, you must contact the insurance company, which only offers advice in German.
Feather and Getsafe sell Roland’s legal insurance plans. Roland is rated very good by DISQ (rating agency).
Arag Legal Insurance
- Rated best legal insurance by the top rating agencies in Germany
- Biggest legal insurance provider in Germany
- Free legal consultation
- Offers comprehensive legal coverage
KS/Auxilia Legal Insurance
- Rated best legal insurance by the top rating agencies in Germany
- Free legal consultation
- Offers comprehensive legal coverage
Feather Legal Insurance
- Legal insurance policy starting from €13.51 per month
- Free legal consultation
- English customer support
- Insurance agent and sells Roland’s legal insurance policy
NOTE: Top rating agencies in Germany rated Arag—Aktiv-Premium, WGV—Optimal PBV, and KS / Auxilia—Jurprivat as the best legal insurance plans in Germany.
References
- https://www.iww.de/rvgprof/archiv/einigungsgebuehr-vergleichsgebuehr-nun-einigungsgebuehr-f47495
- https://www.haufe.de/recht/deutsches-anwalt-office-premium/4-aussergerichtliche-taetigkeiten-5-beispiele-zur-berechnung-der-geschaeftsgebuehr_idesk_PI17574_HI15188997.html
- https://www.anwaelte-hc.de/anwaltskosten-rechtsanwaltkosten-berechnen
- https://www.brak.de/service/verbraucherinformationen/was-kostet-das/
- https://www.verivox.de/rechtsschutzversicherung/themen/anwaltsgebuehren/
