What is the difference between “costs” and “fees”?
” Fees” means legal fees chargeable against a client, per the Legal Services Agreement. “Costs” are the expenses of running the case. It includes, but is not limited to the cost of filing suit, sheriff’s service of process expenses, subpoena costs, court reporter charges, costs for photographs, exhibits, copies, etc. Another major difference is that when fees are paid, it is the lawyer’s earned compensation, and is immediately available for business or personal purposes. Costs are “client monies,” and go into a special trust fund for client funds, until paid to the third-party such as the court clerk, sheriff, special process server, or the like. We never mix costs with fees, or borrow from cost account to pay office overhead expenses.
