Overview about legal principals on lawyer's fees and court costs in Germany
In Germany the legal basis for lawyer's fees, court fees and additional costs are transparent as they are regulated by specific statutes. Lawyer's fees are regulated according to German law and statutory fee scales exist for lawyer's fees (RVG - Rechtsanwaltsverguetungsgesetz) and court fees (GKG - Gerichtskostengesetz).
Basic statutory costs for lawyers show a cost range, which can vary in each case, depending on the specifics of the case, e.g.:
- the out-of-court activities,
- the necessity of court activities and/or,
- a final agreement terminating the case.
Statuary fees in litigation cases are fixed.
Comprehensive guideline on out-of-court and litigation costs in Germany
In the following sections we have described the fundamentals of the German system regarding out-of-court and litigation costs and will provide some comprehensive examples of a calculation in order to make it easier for you to evaluate an initial possible overall expenditure of the individual cost risk of the case.