How Much Does a Student Defense Lawyer Cost?
These are my fees. Almost everything I do is a flat fee, set in writing before any work begins — more predictable for you than an hourly clock, and no meter running while you decide whether to ask a question. Hourly is available where you prefer it. Each item below opens for a summary, and links to its own page with the full details.
If you are up against a deadline, start with Representation & Advocacy — it begins as soon as conflicts clear and the agreement is signed, and work typically begins the same week. The Full Read + Game Plan is the budget option: a scheduled session, best when there is room on the calendar.
Download the one-page overview (PDF) — the practice at a glance: what goes to court, how the Full Read + Game Plan works, and what is handled on campus.
All fees
Full Read + Game Plan
$1,000
Not a consultation: you send everything and I read your entire file — up to about 100 files or 500 pages on one or two discrete issues — then we build the plan together in a session with no time limit, with seven days of follow-up by email included. The budget option: the session is scheduled around existing client work — when a hearing or deadline is days away, representation is the right first step.
What’s included
The Full Read. You send everything — the notice, the handbook, the emails, the evaluations, your accommodation file, the timeline — and I read all of it, up to about 100 files or 500 pages, scoped to one or two discrete issues. Not a summary of the file; the file. Most students have never had anyone actually read their whole record — the school certainly hasn’t — and cases turn on what is sitting in it: the procedural step the school skipped, the sentence in the handbook that contradicts what it did, the email that fixes the timeline. I aim to finish by the end of the week your complete record arrives, because appeal windows run in days.
The Game Plan session. In person, by video, or by phone — and it is not just answering questions. We come up with the plan together: we go through the situations you are facing, what the school’s own rules require it to do, your strongest and weakest points, the deadlines and which document each clock runs from, the realistic outcomes, and exactly what to do next, in what order. There is no stopwatch and no set number of minutes — the session ends when the plan is formed. Seven days of follow-up questions by email are included.
What you walk away with. A plan you can execute yourself if you choose to: what to write, what not to write, who to send it to, and by when. Many students handle the next steps on their own from there — the plan is built so that you can.
No sales pitch — ever. I will never present a retainer or a representation agreement during the session, and telling you that you do not need a lawyer is a legitimate outcome, and a common one. For a large share of students this is the entire engagement. And when the matter needs more, the Full Read flows directly into Representation & Advocacy: the plan we built becomes the roadmap for the case, and the $1,000 is credited toward it when you sign within two months of the Session — your agreement states the credit in writing.
Representation & advocacy
from $5,000
Direct representation, most of the time: I deal with your school — and, where it has escalated, with its counsel — directly. Me reaching out to your school in any manner is a minimum of $5,000, because speaking for you requires being fully prepared. It begins as soon as conflicts clear and the agreement is signed — no session to schedule, and work typically begins the same week you sign. These are ranges, not a menu price: the stage you are in, whether you are still enrolled or working to get back in, the school, the size of the record, and the deadlines all move the number, and your exact fee is fixed in writing before any work begins.
The stages & what’s included
- Nothing decided yet — a charge, an investigation, a meeting on the calendar. Where representation buys the most. From $5,000.
- A decision came down, the appeal window is open. A stand-alone appeal letter from $1,500; carrying the whole appeal stage from $5,000.
- A hearing is scheduled. The most demanding posture — see the hearings card, from $10,000.
- The internal process is over. “Final” is the school’s label, not the end: negotiation with the school and its counsel, agency complaints, record corrections, and settlement all still happen after “final.” Where court is the right tool, litigation is quoted below — and after a final decision the court deadline can be as short as thirty days.
Covers policy analysis, submissions and appeals, hearing preparation and attendance where permitted, records work, and agency complaints. Most engagements land between $5,000 and $15,000 — but a lot is variable: how many issues are in play, whether the school opens a second proceeding, how much of the record has to be mastered, and how fast the calendar is moving. That is why “from” is doing real work in these numbers, and why the quote comes after I understand the matter, not before — fixed in writing, before any work begins, so the variability is mine to manage, not yours. Demand letters from $2,000, priced honestly. Representation can be combined with any other item on this page — the written agreement sets out how the fees work together.
Hearings — Title IX, conduct & due process
from $10,000
The most demanding posture there is: the evidence file, testimony, cross-examination, and the record built for appeal.
The hearing types & what’s included
- Title IX & sexual-misconduct hearings — live hearings with cross-examination through an advisor, run under the school’s Title IX procedures.
- Code-of-conduct & disciplinary hearings — alcohol, drugs, hazing, and the rest of the conduct code, where the school must prove its charge under its own rules.
- Academic, honor-code & professionalism hearings — misconduct panels, fitness-to-practice committees, and the other hearing-type proceedings professional programs run.
Most contested hearings run between $10,000 and $25,000, quoted to the case. A fee at this level can be split into installments fixed in writing at the start — no interest, no surcharge, no financing company. A parent funding the representation is common and permitted; the student remains the client.
Litigation
quoted
A last resort, and a serious one — and I back it up: fees paid on the items above can be credited toward it when set out in writing.
What’s included
Fee structure depends on the case: hourly, a hybrid of reduced hourly plus contingency, or, for the strongest cases, a contingency — matched honestly to what your case actually is. Which is available turns on the claim, the forum, the likely recovery, and whether the statute allows fee-shifting. Where I am admitted — three Florida districts, Colorado, and four more — the bill is shorter: no pro hac vice motion, no second lawyer billing alongside me.
Accommodations — school & exams
$2,000 / from $2,500
The fee depends on where you are in the process and on who does the talking. School assistance, $2,000, with you as the one communicating; board, licensing & entrance exams from $2,500.
What’s included
At your school ($2,000, typically — varies with the school and the issues): I review the request as drafted and the documentation behind it, identify what is missing, and prepare you for the disability-office meeting. If I assisted with a request that is then denied, the school-level appeal is included. Many times a Game Plan session is the right touch instead. If I am the one interacting with your school directly — in any manner — that is representation & advocacy, not this fee.
Testing agencies (USMLE, COMLEX, MCAT, LSAT, NCLEX, the bar, and the rest): a separate process with its own documentation standard and deadlines. Start to finish — strategy, documentation package, personal statement, forms, agency correspondence — $2,500; appeal-only, typically the harder posture, $3,000. Clinician documentation is a separate cost.
Ongoing counsel — monthly
arranged to fit
Some clients keep me engaged for a semester or a year — a lawyer quietly reading everything before they sign or reply. The monthly arrangement is set to the situation, in writing.
What’s included
I stay familiar with your situation, interpret documents as they arrive, handle the administrative technicalities behind the scenes, and answer questions as they come up, with advocacy where something needs to be said. It suits students with disabilities who receive accommodations especially well.
Second-Opinion Session
$1,000
Already have a lawyer? I evaluate the game plan you are already on — same format as the Full Read.
What’s included
An independent read on the strategy against the school’s own policies and federal law, a check on deadlines and issues that are waived if not raised, and specific questions worth putting to your own counsel. I will not, and ethically cannot, try to get you to switch — and I am just as willing to tell you the matter is being handled correctly, which is often the answer.
Last reviewed September 2026, and reviewed at least annually. These figures are current and are honored as stated for at least ninety days from the date they are published here. Where a figure reads “from,” the final number is fixed in writing before any work begins, never after. Third-party costs — records and transcript fees, filing and service fees, postage, and evaluations or documentation from your own clinicians — are separate from the fees on this page and are described under “What is not included?” below.
If the fee is the obstacle
- Buy the advice, not the representation. The Full Read + Game Plan is a complete product on its own, and for many students it is the entire engagement. You can also come back for another Game Plan session whenever a new step comes up — each one is its own engagement, and students are meant to use them that way.
- Say so if timing is the problem. Your deadline changes how I sequence the work — do not let a fee question run your appeal window out.
- A larger fee can be split. Where an engagement runs to five figures, the fee can be divided into installments across the matter, set out in the written agreement with the amounts and dates fixed at the start. There is no surcharge, no interest, and no financing company — the total is the same total, arranged differently. Ask before you decide the number is out of reach.
- Someone else can pay. A parent or family member funding the engagement is common and permitted — you remain the client, and nobody who pays directs the representation or sees your confidences without your say.
How to start
- Tell me what happened — through the contact form, by email at zachary@astudentslawyer.com, or by phone at (561) 308-9119. Keep it to the basics: the school, the decision, the dates, and any deadline — if something is due within days, say so first. I will tell you which item above applies, including when the answer is none of them.
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- Sign the engagement agreement. One agreement, plain terms: your scope, your fee, and what I am responsible for. Read the sample here — nothing starts before it is signed, and if you prefer a straight hourly arrangement, say so and it is written that way.
- Pay, then send everything. The secure payment link comes after signing and conflicts clearing; payment makes the engagement effective (Zelle to (561) 308-9119 also works). Then the work begins: for representation, I take over contact with the school as soon as the engagement is effective — typically the same week; for a Full Read + Game Plan, the read starts, we set your session, and your seven days of follow-up run from there.
Common questions
Why don’t you offer a free consultation?
Because a free consultation does not actually solve your problem — it is a sales call, and I am not trying to sell you anything in a fifteen-minute window. Your matter turns on documents and deadlines, and until someone has read the record there is very little of value to say about it. I speak with clients all the time; I just do not do it in the form of a “consultation.” The Full Read + Game Plan is the opposite of a quick call: I read your entire file first, then we sit down and I tell you exactly what is going on and what to do. That is worth paying for, and for many students it is the only thing they end up needing.
How fast can you look at it?
Two speeds. Representation begins as soon as conflicts clear and the agreement is signed — no session to schedule, and work typically begins the same week. For the Full Read + Game Plan, I aim to finish the read by the end of the week your complete file arrives, and the session is scheduled after the read — the budget route, not the fast one. The clock starts when the record is actually complete, which is why I confirm what I have before we schedule.
Can I have more than one Game Plan session?
Yes — as many as you need, and students should use them as they need them. Each session is a new engagement under its own agreement rather than an add-on to the first: a new session means a new set of documents, a new read, and a new fee. That is deliberate, and it is not a reason to hesitate. Students come back for a fresh Game Plan when a new notice arrives, before a meeting, to review a draft accommodation request, or to walk through a single step before taking it — which is exactly what the format is for. Each session is advice and review; it does not produce filed written work product, which is what the larger engagements are for.
Does the Full Read + Game Plan count toward a larger engagement?
Yes, when you sign within two months of the Session — your agreement states the credit in writing. The $1,000 is credited against representation, and fees paid above can be credited toward litigation.
What is not included?
Third-party costs: records and transcript fees, filing and service fees, postage, and evaluations or documentation from your clinicians.
Can my parents pay for this?
Yes — it is very common, and in most of the significant student cases you read about a parent is funding the matter. Schools notice it, too: a represented, well-resourced family changes how carefully an institution handles the file. You remain the client, your informed consent is required, and whoever pays neither directs the representation nor receives your confidential information without your say. If you are the parent reading this, the parents’ page covers your side of it — what helps, what backfires, and how funding works.
The decision says it is final. Is anything left?
Often, yes. “Final” is the school’s label for the end of its internal process — it does not mean the matter is over, and it does not mean the school and its counsel are done negotiating. Corrected notations, readmission paths, agreed records, and settlements — including paid ones — happen after “final” more often than students expect.
Will you talk to the school for me, or do I stay the one communicating?
It depends on the engagement. In accommodations assistance and behind-the-scenes work, you stay the one communicating and I prepare you. In representation, I can deal with the school and, where it has escalated, with its counsel directly — which is heightened work and priced accordingly. The Game Plan session is where we decide which posture actually serves you.
A hearing or deadline is days away — is the Full Read + Game Plan the right first step?
Usually not. The Game Plan is a scheduled session, and scheduling takes time a close deadline may not have. When something is due in days, representation is built for it: once conflicts clear and the agreement is signed, I can take over contact with the school at once. Call (561) 308-9119 and say what is due and when.
Terms that apply to every engagement
- In writing, first. Scope, fee, and deliverable are confirmed in a signed agreement before any work begins.
- The fee does not move once set — but some terms can. Every matter is unique, and within the written agreement certain terms are adjustable to fit it.
- Flat fees are earned on engagement under Rule 4-1.5, Rules Regulating The Florida Bar; refunds are determined under those Rules.
- Credits apply only when written. A starting fee counts toward a later engagement if the later agreement says so.
- Deadlines stay yours unless the agreement expressly puts a specific deadline or filing on me.
- No outcome is guaranteed, at any fee. Academic and disciplinary decisions rest with the school in the first instance.
Attorney advertising. This page is general information only — not legal advice and not an offer of representation. The fees shown are my typical fees for the scopes described and may differ on your matter; your scope and fee are set in a signed written agreement. Contacting me does not create an attorney–client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Zachary Gaynor, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 125534, Boca Raton, Florida.