Is it possible to give a large amount as a flat fee instead of hourly billing?

Yes, it is possible to find a lawyer who would take a lawsuit on a flat fee basis. I can help you find one.

The lawyer tells you how he bills. Take it or leave it. Most lawyers want to get paid whether or not the case results in a win.

Payment for your attorney's work on your behalf is, generally, a matter of agreement between you and your attorney. Some limitations exist, but not many, and they mostly concern contingency fee arrangements (when attorney gets paid some percentage of the judgment or the settlement in the case). Flat fees are used mostly in the areas of legal practice where the amount of work on the case and the expenses are reasonably predictable; wast majority of such cases concern transactional law - negotiating and drafting contracts, obtaining licenses, immigration applications, uncontested divorces, setting up business entities and trusts, etc. Litigation cases are much harder to predict in terms of the work and expenses that will be required. The attorney you consider retaining might be reluctant to accept a flat fee because the risk is high that, on the one hand, vigorous and creative opposition or some unexpected developments in the case would increase the work and expenses on the case many times over the original estimate, or, on the other hand, the opposition might fold and settle right after the opening salvoes of the battle. In the first scenario, the attorney would end up working for free and paying for the case out of his own pocket. In the second scenario, he or she would get paid too much for little work, which is against the rules of the profession and would give you a good reason to demand a refund. If you insist on a flat fee arrangement, you should be ready to address these two scenarios and to work out solutions that would be fair and acceptable to you and your attorney (remember to put all terms in writing in the retainer agreement).

Not knowing the type of lawsuit that you have makes an answer difficult to give. You can always propose the fee agreement with you attorney. If your attorney is unwilling to or is not able to for some reason, you may consult other attorneys. Best of luck.

Yes, it is possible but the type of payments will have to be mutually agreed upon between you and the lawyer. Some lawyers will take a large upfront retainer and then draw funds from it based on an hourly rate but not to exceed a pre-agreed upon sum. But again you must find a lawyer who will agree to it. So, the answer is "yes" but you will have to find such a lawyer.

The fee agreement with an attorney is contractual in nature. Therefore, you do not like the price or terms offered by one attorney shop around.

Generally yes, but it depends on the nature of the suit and what may be involved.

Lawyers fees are subject to negotiation and agreement between client and lawyer. As you suggest, one option is a flat rate fee. As the lawyer suggested another option is an hourly fee. A third option is a contingent fee (although in Michigan these are more common in personal injury cases than other types of cases and are not legal in domestic relations cases). A fourth option is a hybrid fee where there is a reduced hourly rate as well as a contingent fee on a percentage of any recovery. I've even heard of attorneys providing legal services in exchange for some goods or services you can exchange (in other words, bartering).

Many lawyers will entertain flat fee arrangements, but unless you're willing to pay the flat fee up front and not out of case proceeds, it's not really a flat fee at all but merely a contingent fee in a fixed amount. If that's what you're looking for, you're probably better off with a percentage fee because that way the lawyer's fortunes rise or fall with your own and he has a greater incentive to get you the biggest possible recovery.

It may be possible, but the problem is the type of lawsuit. If there is a possibility of a lot of discovery and motion practice, that can eat up a lot of a lawyer's time that he or she could be spending on something else. Typically fixed-fee arrangements are entered into where there is a probability of limited hearings, etc., e.g. criminal case up to trial, wills, etc.

It is possible. The problem is, the lawyer will insist on a flat fee based on his estimate of how many hours of his time the case will take, and it is difficult to estimate. However, some attorneys may actually prefer such an arrangement. Keep in mind, however, if the case is resolved quickly and easily, you would still be required to pay the entire flat fee. Attorneys often charge flat fees in criminal matters. One reason, however, is we have a good idea of how many hours will be spent even if it goes to trial. Civil cases are harder to predict.

In this horrid economy many alternate billing scenarios are being followed. It really depends on what type of lawsuit is involved. You need to do an accurate assessment of what the case would cost you hourly and the probability of an early settlement.

I think most lawyers would work on a flat fee basis. Very frequent with criminal cases, not so much with civil but certainly possible. What you may not realize is that it might take 10000 worth of lawyer time to handle a small civil case over a year and a half. If it is against big corp they will work him to death if they can and he will spend twice that time on a case. and if it is malpractice it could be 30000 or more. If it is a big case against a big corp the time might be 50000 (none of these ballpark figures would cover appeals).

The difficulty is that we don't know where it will all start and end. We can do flat rate on small matters, such as house closings, traffic tickets and wills, but when it comes to litigation, it could go easy, it could get complicated. No harm in looking, there are plenty of lawyers out there, maybe one would take on such an arrangement.

Generally, only personal injury cases are handled by a contingency fee. In civil matters, the outcome is unsure and it requires a lot of hours to prepare for. It is unlikely that you will find an attorney to handle the matter on a fee basis.

Different lawyers uses different fee structures, depending on their practice and often the type of case.