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The Mission of Our Lawyers
in Charleston
At the Futeral Law Firm, the mission of our lawyers is to serve the communities of
Charleston, Mount Pleasant, and other coastal areas in South
Carolina by providing high quality legal services to individual
clients and businesses in an efficient, timely, and professional
manner that adheres to the highest standards of excellence and
integrity, and to charge fees that are fair and appropriate for
our clients.
Our attorneys in Charleston are committed to safeguarding the
legal rights of South Carolinians in both state and federal
court. Our lawyers represent clients in a many legal matters
including personal injury, worker's compensation, products
liability, unfair trade practices, business disputes, medical
malpractice, nursing home negligence, wrongful death, quiet title closings, incorporations, and family law cases. We also
represent defendants regarding state and federal crimes
including misdemeanors and felonies.
Attorney - Client Relations
The key to our success as lawyers in Charleston depends
upon our clients' satisfaction with our services. So, our
attorneys take a "customer-service" approach which includes:
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Returning Telephone Calls -
The single
most frequently registered complaint with many state bar
associations across the country is the failure of
attorneys to return their clients' telephone calls.
Depending upon the urgency of the call, we strive to
return telephone calls as soon as possible and
oftentimes return them the same day.
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Advising Our Clients About Changes in the Law -
As we become aware of changes in the laws of
South Carolina or elsewhere, our attorneys strive to
keep our clients informed of these changes before the
client experiences a problem or concern.
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Communicating Regularly With Our Clients - We
believe it is important to let our clients know what is
happening with their case. So, we regularly send copies
of letters, memos, and court documents to our clients to
give them the status of their case and to educate our
clients about the legal process.
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Treating Our Clients With Dignity and Respect -
At the Futeral Law Firm, we believe that our
clients should not feel they are a burden upon our
attorneys or that we are doing them a favor. Because our
clients are our number one priority, we treat them with
the dignity and respect they deserve. With so many law
firms to choose from, we deeply appreciate the
opportunity to represent our clients' legal needs in
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Cutting Edge Law Firm Technology
Technology is essential to the practice of law in the 21st
Century. At the Futeral Law Firm, our lawyers and paralegals
have access to some of the latest advancements in software and
equipment to assist them with case management, client
communications, and courtroom presentation:
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Case Management - we use special legal
software known as Amicus Attorney® to improve the
efficiency of our law firm by organizing and integrating
all of our essential client information into a single
system. Using this program, our law firm manages the
critical information in hundreds of client files, which
includes: (1) complete contact information of all
persons involved (client, witnesses, court staff,
opposing lawyers, etc.), (2) calendars including events,
to-do items, and deadline reminders, (3) all
communications including emails, telephone messages, and
telephone calls, and (4) all client documents including
correspondence and legal briefs. Additionally, we have
the capability of digitally organizing thousands upon
thousands of case documents, including witness
testimony, correspondence, and legal documents into a
searchable database which puts the information literally
at our fingertips.
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Client Communications - by combining
high-speed internet access with email, instant
messaging, software such as Adobe Acrobat® and Microsoft
Office®, and secure access to our web server, our
lawyers can communicate and work more efficiently with
clients and meet the changing needs of a more
technologically progressive practice of law in South
Carolina. We also have access to online nationwide legal
sources and research.
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Courtroom Presentation - Studies show that
approximately 80% of the information retained by juries
in South Carolina and elsewhere is visual. Thus, our
lawyers use cutting-edge technology to organize and
present exhibits, information, and high-impact
multimedia presentations at trial. For example,
TrialDirector® is state-of-the-art software which allows
our attorneys to take the courtroom presentation of case
exhibits to a new level by offering side-by-side exhibit
comparison, on-screen annotations, multiple zoom
capabilities, and synchronized video displays. Depending
on the type of case, our attorneys may use digital
photography, animation, or 3D scene recreations to
create dramatic and effective case presentations.
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Fee Structure
There are three basic fee structures for our legal services.
These types of fees depend upon the nature of legal work
involved. In all cases, we work with our clients to come up with
fee options and payment plans that fit within their budget,
which include:
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Contingency Fee -
A contingency fee is a fee
based upon a percentage of the recovery for the client.
For example, in plaintiff's claims or personal injury
cases, we typically charge a contingency fee of 33% to
40% of the recovery.
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Hourly Fee -
In some cases, we bill our
clients by the hour for the legal services performed. An
hourly fee is typically charged for consulting work,
civil defense work, or family law cases. It is customary
for the client to deposit a retainer with our firm from
which these hours can be billed.
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Flat Fee - Unlike a contingency fee or a
hourly fee, a flat fee is a single amount charged to the
client for the services performed. For example, our firm
charges a flat fee for real estate closings and for most
criminal matters such as DUI's and other offenses.
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For more information regarding how our
lawyers can assist you with your legal needs, please browse
our web site or contact us locally at (843) 284-5500, toll
free at (877) 913-5500, or email
info@charlestonlaw.net.
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