TEN years ago, a person who had to face a judge in court would have had to pay a lawyer $500 to stand by him.

That same person would be paying at least four times as much today, even if it were just to get that lawyer to ask the court for leniency.

The price of justice has more than doubled over the past decade, say lawyers who have been around in the business long enough.

Escalating rents in the Central Business District, from $8 per sq ft last year to $18 psf now, was cited as one reason.

Another was the need to stem the drain of talent going from the litigation business to what is perceived to be more cushy corporate positions.

A check with the big four law firms here shows that the starting pay for lawyers has gone up steadily over the years, with those recruited by the top firms getting as much as $5,000 a month.

'Once we decided to pay the lawyers more, the client bears the brunt of it,' one senior lawyer said candidly.

It raises the question of whether legal protection and redress is out of reach for the less well-off, especially since they have to pay court fees as well.

These fees were raised in 2002 to deter frivolous litigation. While it cost $150 to file a suit in the High Court then, it costs $1,000 to do so now.

Every day that a trial spends in court also means more costs for the parties involved.

The first day - or first three days in some courts - is free, but from then on hearing fees can range from $2,000 to $9,000 per day.

Then there is the cost of losing a civil suit. The losing party usually pays the legal fees of the victor.

The recent case of primary school teacher Jonathan Lock put the spotlight on how much lawyers charge, an issue which has received less attention than the fees of another profession: doctors.

The legal bill presented to Mr Lock surprised even high-flying lawyers: $125,000 for what started out as a simple accident case where he was awarded only $188.

The sum comprised $80,000 worth of legal work billed by his own lawyer, and those of NTUC Income, which had initially won the first round of the fight.

The David and Goliath scenario led to talk that the small man cannot match the big boys with deep pockets. But, as in the biblical story, David won.

Mr Lock and his former lawyer seem to have resolved their dispute amicably, but there is now a Law Society inquiry into the claim that Mr Lock had not been kept in the loop by his lawyer every step of the way: one reason for the ballooning fees.

The Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules spell out some guidelines on charging clients, including how a lawyer should explain to the client from the outset what costs to expect, and to give regular updates if the costs exceed the estimates given.

But, in the main, it relies on lawyers acting professionally when it comes to calculating their client's final bill.

A one-week trial in the Subordinate Courts could cost anything from $5,000 to $30,000, depending on how experienced, and sometimes how well-known, the lawyer is.

Even a straightforward case, in which the client intends to plead guilty without a trial and only needs the lawyer to present the mitigation plea, can cost $2,000.

The costs go up to six figures if the case is taken to the High Court, and can even hit $1 million if a Senior Counsel goes to trial for a week.

Lawyers say that those who want the services of a Senior Counsel are prepared to pay the high prices.

They are usually big corporations with reputations to maintain, and usually have their own in-house lawyers, too.

Sometimes, you have little choice but to pay top dollar, especially if your opponent has a good lawyer.

A businessman who was getting a divorce from his wife paid a top family lawyer $200,000 this year.

'My wife had a very good lawyer too, so I thought I should get someone better,' said Mr K.H. Loh.

Lawyers on the cheap

BUT there are those with not so much money to burn who will shop around to find the cheapest choice.

Mr Marcus Lim and his wife were spotted in Chinatown earlier this week looking for a lawyer to take on a lorry driver who had crashed into their car.

The businessman had never had to hire a lawyer before and trawled five firms which quoted him sums of between $3,000 and $6,000.

'They asked me what my budget was and I said $2,000. They told me no one would take my case for so little,' he said.

In the end, he had to double his budget to land a lawyer.

Smaller firms tend to offer such package deals, giving an estimate of what it would cost the client if he took a certain path.

Lawyer Amolat Singh says he charges about $2,000 for a simple case in which the client pleads guilty. A week-long trial, on the other hand, can go for between $25,000 and $30,000.

Most lawyers give interim bills, especially if the case becomes more complex along the way.

With such sign-posting, the client can balance his accounts better and decide to proceed or drop the case.

Lawyers also say clients sometimes haggle for a lower price by claiming that another firm has offered a better deal.

Whether the claim is true is easily gauged, say lawyers, as there is a commonly adopted market rate that lawyers of a certain number of years of experience would charge.

For example, a lawyer with over 10 years of experience can charge twice the amount that a lawyer with less than five years under his belt can.

Lawyers in big firms charge by the hour.

A new lawyer can bill up to $250 an hour, a partner asks up to $500 for equivalent work, while a Senior Counsel can command $1,000.

They can also charge for disbursements: fees for photocopying and filing documents, getting documents from agencies like the Traffic Police and testimonies of expert witnesses.

They have also been known to claim for lunches during a trial - sometimes as much as $20 a meal - and taxi rides to and from court, even though their office is a five-minute walk away.

Photocopying costs very often form the bulk of the disbursements.

The Law Society set guidelines in 1987 stating that lawyers can charge 30 cents per page. But in 2003, the courts ruled that all judges would approve lawyers' photocopying charges at a rate of 15 cents a page.

Former chief justice Yong Pung How had warned lawyers at the time that those who filed excessive documents would be made to bear the costs.

He told of one lawyer who claimed $259,000 for photocopying charges, and another who filed over 2,000 pages of documents but never once referred to them during his 75-minute oral submission.