In addition to the attorneys bills, there are costs for expert witnesses, photocopies, transcripts, travel and other hard costs associated with prosecuting a case. In many instances, these costs can exceed several thousand dollars. In addition to these hard costs, there are the billable time spent by the lawyers and paralegals and their associated staff to work on this case. Some statutes say that attorneys fees may be awarded as costs, although this is not the norm. It makes the terminology even more confusing.
Someone has to pay for the legal work it takes to win a case.
In some situations, government agencies provide free legal services to poor people, or in criminal matters. But, most cases are between private parties with private attorneys who must be paid by their clients. Some times the law makes the looser pay the winner s attorney s fees, but that is not the usual situation. Even if the law says the looser pays, most attorneys will want you to pay them win or lose, unless the matter is taken on a contingent fee basis, as discussed below. More frequently, the law says the loser pays the winner for costs but not fees, but this usually does not amount to much money.