Phase pricing assigns a fixed amount to each litigation stage such as pleadings, written discovery, depositions, expert work, dispositive motions, and trial. Each phase is priced and billed separately.
Phases typically follow the UTBMS task code structure.
Alternative Names:
Phase Fee, Phased Fixed Fee
Why it Matters?
Phasing reduces the variance problem that makes whole-matter flat fees risky, because a case resolving after written discovery never reaches the phases that would have consumed the margin. It also gives the client cost certainty at each decision point and a natural review moment before authorizing the next phase. Cases that settle mid-phase require an allocation mechanism the agreement should specify.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Why phase a fixed fee?
What should the agreement address?
