I am a trademark opposition lawyer that charges a flat-fee for my services.  Charging one, flat fee for a trademark opposition case is advantageous to my clients for the following reasons:

• the total cost to the client is fixed and predictable
• the fee agreement between the client and me is transparent and unambiguous
• there are no surprises when the bill arrives

Conversely, billing the client hourly for trademark attorney services creates a host of problems for the client.  Such challenges include the following issues that may arise during the course of representing a company in a trademark opposition case:

• open-ended hourly billing
• potential to create more billable hours within the case
• lack of incentives for early case settlement
• potential for fee disputes

In my opinion, it is always in the trademark owner’s best interest to negotiate a flat-fee agreement for representing them in trademark opposition cases before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.