Mandate / Fee

The contract with your lawyer is a mandate pursuant to art. 394ff OR (Code of Obligations).

The scope of the mandate and the fee must be agreed verbally or in writing in a contract. Please see here for a sample contract.

Common types of fee arrangement are

• Time-based fee: Bohren Attorney at Law normally charges a fee of between Fr. 220 and Fr. 350 per hour plus 8% VAT, depending on the responsibility, the level of difficulty and the area of law.

• Fee based on the value of claim pursuant to the Zurich High Court's Ordinance Regarding Lawyer's Fees: Bohren Attorney at Law will only grant this type of fee settlement for litigation and only in case of a significant value of claim.

• Contingency fee (pactum de palmario): Additionally to the time-based fee (or lump-sum fee) a contingency fee may be agreed which will lead to the agreement of a low rate for the time-based fee or lump-sum fee. However, in accordance with the applicable legal provisions lawyers are not permitted to exclusively act on the basis of a contingency fee and a cost-covering time-based or lump-sum fee must always be agreed in addition. 

Individuals who are unable to afford a lawyer in addition to their normal living expenses and who do not have any net assets are entitled pursuant to art. 117ff ZPO (Code of Civil Procedure) to submit an application for the appointment of a free-of-charge legal representative for litigation. This also applies in principle for individuals residing outside Switzerland. Please ask your lawyer.