How much does a lawyer cost in Switzerland?

Legal fees are essentially based on three factors: hourly rate, workload and complexity of the matter. It should be noted that it is not only legal representation in court that has a financial impact. On the contrary. Many matters are resolved out of court. In both cases, costs may be incurred for general legal advice, correspondence, telephone calls, research and the drafting and preparation of contracts. Generally speaking, the hourly rate of a lawyer in Switzerland is between CHF 200 and CHF 500, with a large mid-range of between CHF 250 and CHF 350 per hour. The degree of specialisation of the legal expert also plays a decisive role here. For example, the costs for a generalist will tend to be at the lower end of this spectrum, while the fee for a specialist or specialised lawyer will tend to be in the middle or upper range.

How does my lawyer charge for his services in Switzerland?

As a general rule, lawyers' fees are negotiable and therefore vary depending on the specialist, their expertise and the complexity of the matter. Aspects such as the location of the law firm can also have an influence on the amount of the fee. Lawyers in Switzerland usually operate with an open billing model. In this case, your lawyer will charge you for her services on a time basis at an agreed hourly rate, specifying a minimum amount of work.

During the initial consultation, ask your lawyer to explain their cost structure and to give you as clear an idea as possible of the costs you will incur if you are awarded the mandate. In some cases, you will realise that legal assistance is not as expensive as you feared. In other situations, it may make more sense not to take legal or court action due to the cost-benefit calculation. This may be the case, for example, in a labour law dispute with a low amount in dispute. In this case, it may make more sense for you to go to an arbitration board without legal assistance. Otherwise, you run the risk that even if the outcome of the proceedings is positive, the lawyer's fee will neutralise your financial gain.

How does billing work with GetYourLawyer?

High and above all incalculable legal fees discourage many people from seeking legal advice or being represented by a lawyer. GetYourLawyer therefore offers two other billing models in addition to open invoicing, which allow you to get an accurate picture of the costs incurred before you award the mandate and thus decide whether the financial outlay is worthwhile for you.

As a rule, the experts in the GetYourLawyer network work with the following billing models:

• Fixed price: If the enquiry is described in detail and the work involved is easy for your lawyer to estimate, she can offer a fixed price. This option guarantees you the greatest possible cost certainty.
• Cost ceiling: If the lawyer cannot estimate the exact amount of work involved based on the information you provide, but knows approximately how much it will be, you will receive an offer with a cost ceiling instead. This sets a lower and upper limit for the consulting costs. During order processing, the lawyer will provide a detailed breakdown of the services actually rendered. The final amount is always within the agreed framework. 
• Billing according to time spent: With this billing model, your lawyer charges for the hours actually worked at an hourly rate agreed in advance.

Mention the preferred price option in your case description if you think it is suitable for your case.

When does legal expenses insurance cover my costs?

If costs are incurred for lawyers, expert opinions or courts in a legal dispute, this can quickly add up. The question soon arises as to whether it is worth the financial outlay to stand up for your rights. Legal expenses insurance can help here, as it protects you from the financial consequences of legal disputes and generally covers the costs of advice and legal assistance through to litigation and lawyers' fees. In Switzerland, a distinction is usually made between two types of legal protection insurance:

Private legal expenses insurance: Private legal expenses insurance offers you financial protection in the event of legal disputes under private law. Exactly which disputes are covered depends on the insurance conditions of the respective company. When taking out private legal protection insurance, you should therefore check carefully whether all potentially important contractual disputes such as purchase, rent, loan, labour and work contracts, orders and disputes are actually covered by the policy. As a rule, family, divorce and inheritance disputes are not covered. 

Traffic legal protection: Traffic legal protection insurance protects you against the financial consequences of legal disputes in road traffic. Here, too, you should check the policy carefully and make sure that the purchase, sale, hire and repair of a vehicle, for example, are included in your traffic legal protection insurance.

Both premiums and the scope of benefits can vary greatly from provider to provider. It is therefore worth obtaining several quotes and comparing them carefully. When choosing legal protection insurance, also make sure that you are free to choose your lawyer instead of having to rely on the insurance company's in-house lawyers.

In fact, most legal expenses insurance policies do not allow you to choose your own lawyer. As a rule, you can suggest a lawyer who the insurance company may reject. In this case, you can suggest a further three lawyers from different law firms, one of whom the insurer must accept.

Legal cases are generally only covered by legal expenses insurance if the triggering event occurred after the policy was taken out. Many insurers also insist on a one-off waiting period of sometimes several months to a year before the first insured event can be reported after the policy has been taken out. This is intended to prevent a policy being taken out at short notice in the event of foreseeable disputes, such as an impending job termination.

If you already have legal expenses insurance, you should always check whether and which of the costs are covered. Report any claims or disputes to the insurer immediately so as not to risk a reduction in premiums.

How can the initial consultation be organised?

Depending on how far away your lawyer is from your place of residence and whether other parties are involved in the meeting, you can choose between different forms of counselling:

Face-to-face consultation

A face-to-face meeting at the law firm is definitely recommended. Many things are easier to clarify in a face-to-face meeting. You can also go through the first important documents together and, above all, develop a better feeling for whether the collaboration is right for you on a personal level.

Telephone consultation

A telephone consultation can be a time-saving alternative to a face-to-face meeting. For example, if your lawyer's office is too far away and the journey would therefore be time-consuming. However, depending on the complexity and nature of the matter, it may still make sense to make this effort. Especially when it comes to emotional issues such as a divorce and the personal level plays a more important role than, for example, when simply reviewing a contract, you want to make sure right at the start of the collaboration that you feel you are in good hands with your legal representation.

Video conference counselling

Video conferencing has now become the norm and you can also have an initial consultation with your lawyer on screen without any problems. Video conferencing is particularly practical when third parties are involved in the conversation, making it difficult to find an appointment.

Consultation by e-mail

An initial consultation via email is not recommended, as the delayed form of communication makes the exchange more difficult. However, it may make sense to send your lawyer a brief summary of the situation, including the most important documents, before an initial telephone consultation. However, remember that data exchange via email is generally unprotected. This means that, in the worst case scenario, hackers can read and distribute your content. An unencrypted e-mail is therefore not a suitable means of transmitting sensitive data to your lawyer. Instead, ask your lawyer whether they offer a secure form of data transmission.

How does GetYourLawyer secure communication?

GetYourLawyer treats all information and data confidentially. The information about your case will only be made available to those lawyers who are selected and invited from the GetYourLawyer network to make an offer.

As soon as you have received an offer, you can contact the lawyer either by telephone or directly via a messenger (messaging service or chat on the platform). You also have the option of exchanging documents with the lawyer in your customer account.

Data protection and the secure storage of all data have the highest priority at GetYourLawyer. All data is stored exclusively in a Swiss data centre. This centre has all the relevant certifications. Through regular external audits and penetration tests, GetYourLawyer also ensures that all applications and the infrastructure are protected against attacks.

When is an initial consultation worthwhile before awarding a mandate?

If the matter is complex and a lawyer can only assess the chances of success after careful examination, an initial consultation is definitely worthwhile. This exchange allows the lawyer to gain a better overall impression of your situation and then make an assessment of the prospects of success. It is not always financially worthwhile to go to court. In this case, a good lawyer can provide a reliable prognosis in a short space of time.

Following this initial consultation, you can decide whether you want to give the lawyer the mandate or would rather look for another legal adviser. But be careful: The initial consultation also costs money. However, there is no fixed fee rate for this. Instead, the lawyer decides how much to charge based on the duration and complexity of the case. It is therefore best to ask before your visit to the law firm what the costs will be or agree on a flat rate.

How does the initial consultation with GetYourLawyer work?

The GetYourLawyer lawyer search offers the best conditions for finding the right lawyer straight away. This is primarily due to the fact that a team of qualified employees will look at your case and then invite suitable lawyers to draw up an offer for you. No matter which legal expert you choose from your GetYourLawyer selection: You can't go wrong - unlike when searching for a lawyer on your own. Should you nevertheless wish to have an initial consultation before awarding the mandate, you have the option of agreeing a cost ceiling or a fixed price for the initial consultation. This protects you from unpleasant surprises.

To ensure that your legal expenses insurance actually covers the costs of your legal disputes, it is essential that you take a few points into account: 

• If you have legal expenses insurance, report your case to your legal expenses insurer immediately and in person. 
• Find out from your legal expenses insurance whether and to what extent your policy covers the current case.
• Ask for a written confirmation of costs for your lawyer so that you do not run any cost risk. In most cases, the lawyer will be happy to do this for you free of charge and obtain a corresponding confirmation of cover from the insurance company itself. Make sure that you also receive the corresponding confirmation in writing and keep it in your files. 
• Until you have received this confirmation of cover, you risk having to bear the legal costs (e.g. for your lawyer or the court) yourself. In principle, it is possible to receive a retroactive confirmation of costs. However, you cannot rely on this.
• Cost credits are usually limited. This means that if you take your case to the next instance, you will have to apply to your insurer for a new cost approval. 
• Any agreements you make with your lawyer, for example, that go beyond the scope defined in the cost approval are not covered by legal expenses insurance.
• Inform your legal expenses insurance about the most important steps in the case. Alternatively, your lawyer can do this for you. However, you must release them in writing from their duty of confidentiality towards your legal expenses insurance.
• Even if cover has been granted, you are required to keep the costs within reasonable limits. You can do this by providing your lawyer with the most important information and documents, for example.
• Among other things, an insurance company can refuse to cover costs if it considers the case to have no prospect of success. In this case, you should also obtain a written rejection with detailed reasons. If you do not agree with the decision, it may be worth asking the Insurance Ombudsman's Office for support.

The GYL Support Team will be happy to help you on +41 43 505 1900 or [email protected] if you have any questions about legal insurance.

How does cost control work with GetYourLawyer?

GetYourLawyer provides you with up to three free quotes so you can quickly and easily clarify whether a lawyer is worthwhile or not. Depending on the legal matter, the lawyers will offer you the desired service for open invoicing, at a fixed price or with a cost ceiling.

As is usual for legal advice, an advance payment is due before the mandate is accepted. You can conveniently transfer this to GetYourLawyer by credit card or bank transfer. A corresponding credit balance will then appear on your customer account.

GetYourLawyer will only deduct the invoice amount due from your credit balance and pay it to the legal advisor once your lawyer has provided their service and invoiced their work. Any remaining balance will be refunded to you once the co-operation has been completed. In this way, GetYourLawyer ensures simple invoice processing for all parties involved.

GetYourLawyer also gives you full cost control over your ongoing mandate at any time and from anywhere. You can check all of your lawyer's expenses in your customer account. You can also see invoices and payments, their status and the lawyer's individual activities at a glance.

How high are legal costs in civil proceedings?

If a civil dispute is taken to court, not only legal fees are incurred, but usually also litigation costs. On the one hand, these are made up of court costs, which include the award fee for the arbitration proceedings and the decision, as well as costs for providing evidence, translation and representation of the child. On the other hand, party compensation is due, which includes the reimbursement of necessary expenses, the costs of professional representation and, under certain circumstances, an appropriate compensation for costs incurred if a party is not professionally represented.

Since the revision of the Code of Civil Procedure in 2011, court costs have risen abruptly. Due to these fees, the question of cost risk arises before every civil case, i.e. what happens if you lose the case. In addition, a court can demand an advance on costs from the plaintiff in proceedings that are subject to costs in the amount of the estimated court costs. In addition, the plaintiff may be obliged to provide security for any compensation paid to the defendant.

In concrete terms, this means that in the canton of Zurich, for example, anyone wishing to bring a rent dispute with a value in dispute of CHF 15,000 before the district court must pay an advance of CHF 2,450 in advance. If you lose, you must also reimburse the opposing party for their expenses. This primarily includes the costs of legal representation, which consist of the lawyer's fee and cash expenses for travelling costs, postage, copies and the like. In addition, there are the financial expenses for your own legal representation. The bottom line is that even with this modest amount in dispute, a further CHF 6,000 or so may be due in addition to the advance on costs.

Divorces can also be expensive, depending on the litigiousness of the parties and the location of the court. In cantons such as Bern, Glarus, Graubünden, Lucerne and St. Gallen, the minimum court costs amount to around CHF 1,800. In Zurich District Court, on the other hand, a couple who wish to divorce by mutual consent will pay at least CHF 2,400. However, if things are no longer so harmonious at the end of the relationship, the fees can soon rise to over CHF 10,000. If the amount in dispute rises above one million francs, a lawsuit is hardly affordable for a normal earner. Unfortunately, such high sums are not uncommon, especially in the case of road accidents. The advance on costs alone amounts to between CHF 35,000 and CHF 45,000 for an amount in dispute of CHF 1.5 million in the first instance. Added to this is the advance for the expenses of your own lawyer.

However, there are also exceptions - proceedings that are free of charge and for which no party compensation is due. For example, arbitration proceedings for tenancy disputes and employment disputes up to an amount in dispute of CHF 30,000. Arbitration proceedings can usually be initiated by submitting a written request to the arbitration authority at the defendant's place of residence.

The specific amount of the legal costs is determined by the cantons and can usually be found on the websites of the respective courts. Your lawyer will advise you on the risk assessment and the associated question of whether legal proceedings are worthwhile.

When am I entitled to free legal assistance?

Litigation costs money. To ensure that a person can enforce their rights even if they do not have the necessary financial means for a lawsuit, the state grants a constitutional right to free legal aid in such cases. Two conditions must be met for this:

• Indigence: the person making the application does not have the necessary means to take legal action. For this purpose, the person's income and financial circumstances are analysed and a standardised calculation of need is carried out.
• Opportunities: Free legal aid is only granted if the case is not hopeless. Legal claims are deemed to have no prospect of success if the prospects of winning are considerably lower than the risk of loss.

If free legal aid is actually granted, it includes exemption from advance payments and security deposits as well as court costs. Free legal representation is generally granted if the party is dependent on a lawyer to conduct the proceedings. This is usually the case in complex matters, difficult legal issues or if the other party is also represented by a lawyer. The scope of the legal decision is also important in the decision-making process.

In order to benefit from free legal aid, a written application is required. This must be submitted to the court with jurisdiction in the main case. You can usually find a corresponding form for submitting an application for free legal aid on the website of the respective court. Although the application can be submitted at any time during the course of the proceedings, retroactive support is not possible. It is therefore worth submitting a corresponding application at an early stage.

But be careful: If you subsequently acquire financial resources as a result of the outcome of the proceedings or in another way, the state can withdraw the free legal aid during the proceedings or demand it back retrospectively.