Contrary to what some lawyers would have clients believe, obtaining the highest-quality international legal representation at a reasonable cost is possible, allowing businesses and States to spend their finite resources on core activities rather than on legal fees, if legal representatives are selected wisely. Aceris Law’s goal is to do everything in our client’s interests, including ensuring that each client receives exceptional value for its legal expenditures.
The primary complaint about international arbitration has long been its cost. Legal fees are by far the largest cost element, which Aceris Law addresses by offering top-tier international arbitration legal representation at competitive and transparent rates, often incorporating a success fee element.
Although our success rate is second to none, we will always offer reasonably priced international arbitration legal representation, which is necessary for international arbitration to remain superior to other forms of international dispute resolution.
Although our success rate is second to none, we will always offer reasonably priced international arbitration legal representation, which is necessary for international arbitration to remain superior to other forms of international dispute resolution.
Although our firm’s track record is among the best in the field of international arbitration, our legal fees tend to be less than half the legal fees of the large corporate firms we routinely face (and where our lawyers previously practised law) since we charge reasonable fees and write off all work we do not consider to have been particularly efficient or valuable for our clients. The overall cost of arbitration itself can be significantly reduced for our clients, often by half.
We can offer unbeatable value because we only hire the best, brightest and most energetic lawyers, we are highly experienced in international arbitration, we make use of the latest technology, we refuse to overcharge clients, we maintain a reasonable cost structure, and we always love a good fight and will not bill for the extra time that is required in order to obtain a positive outcome for each client we represent.
We also know our legal services will meet or surpass our clients’ demands. Thus, unlike any other law firm of which we are aware, if a client is not entirely convinced that it is receiving the best legal representation available over a trial period, Aceris Law guarantees in its standard letter of engagement to reimburse all legal fees that were paid.
Our fees are straightforward and entirely transparent:
- We do not charge anything to discuss potential matters.
- We charge a modest, capped fee for the drafting of legal memoranda.
- For claimants with large cases, we frequently bill on a capped, stage-by-stage basis (with or without a success fee element).
- For respondents with large cases, we also frequently bill on a capped, stage-by-stage basis (with or without an uplift element).
- We also frequently bill on a highly competitive hourly basis. Please feel free to request our hourly rates.
When we bill on a capped, stage-by-stage basis, we only charge for the stages of the arbitration that are ultimately required. We also write off all legal fees for work that exceeds the capped amount for each stage of the arbitration.
If our hourly legal fees do not meet the cap for any stage, then our clients pay less than the capped amount.
If our hourly legal fees do not meet the cap for any stage, then our clients pay less than the capped amount.
Savings for our clients in past, successful international arbitrations have been dramatic. For instance, in a recent ICC international arbitration against a large international corporate firm under English law, where our client won the full value of its USD 20 million claims, opposing counsel’s legal fees were GBP 1,007,284.90, our legal fees were less than one-third this amount, the opponent’s counterclaims of USD 123 million were dismissed and our client was reimbursed nearly all of its costs. Similarly, in a recent LCIA arbitration under Saudi law, opposing counsel’s legal fees were USD 911,379.50, our legal fees were again less than one-third this amount, our client won its claims, the opponent’s counterclaims were rejected, and our client was awarded the vast majority of its costs. In another recent, successful ICC arbitration in the aviation industry under French law facing one of the world’s leading global law firms, our fees were also less than one-third the fees of opposing counsel. In another recent ICDR arbitration under New York law, where our client was awarded over USD 35 million in compensation, our legal fees were again less than one-third those of opposing counsel. In numerous additional ICC, LCIA, ICDR, UNCITRAL, ICSID, SIAC, SCC, LMAA, DIAC and other arbitrations, our legal fees have also paled in comparison to opposing counsel’s legal fees whilst securing outstanding results for our clients.
Multiple arbitral tribunals have remarked that Aceris Law’s legal fees are reasonable in their final awards for our victorious clients.
Multiple arbitral tribunals have remarked that Aceris Law’s legal fees are reasonable in their final awards for our victorious clients.
In a recent successful arbitration, one arbitral tribunal indicated, “As regards the reasonableness of the Claimant’s legal fees, we find that the amount of legal fees of Aceris Law LLC is, indeed, very reasonable, in light of the complexity, duration and the considerable value of the claims and counterclaims of this Arbitration.” Since arbitral tribunals consider the reasonableness of legal fees when deciding whether to award costs to the winning party, it is unsurprising that many of our clients have been awarded the full legal fees they incurred.
We have also successfully assisted clients in obtaining third-party funding, for both commercial and investment arbitrations. We are always glad to assist clients in securing third-party funding if we consider the claims in question both meritorious and fundable.
