One of the most common questions we hear from clients: "If I win, will I get back everything I paid my lawyer?" The short answer is probably not. The longer answer explains why and uses five specific examples to show what you will actually pay and what the court will award you in return.
¶ Two separate calculations with no direct link
We usually agree an hourly fee with our clients. Our standard rate is CZK 3,900 (about EUR 155) per hour excluding VAT. As we are registered for VAT, we add 21%, so the effective rate is CZK 4,719 per hour.
If you win, the court will order the other side to pay your legal costs. The court does not calculate them from your contractual fee, however. It works from Ministry of Justice Decree No. 177/1996 Coll., known as the attorney tariff.
The tariff takes no account of hours worked; it prices individual acts of legal service (úkony právní služby, the units the tariff recognises, such as a pre-litigation demand, a statement of claim or attendance at a hearing). Each act carries a rate based on the tariff value of the dispute, and a flat-rate expense allowance of CZK 450 is added for every act. If the lawyer is registered for VAT, VAT is added to the award as well.
There is no direct mathematical link between the contractual fee and the tariff-based award. The award may be lower than, equal to, or even higher than what you paid your lawyer.
¶ What changed in January 2025
The amendment to the attorney tariff (Decree No. 258/2024 Coll., effective 1 January 2025) raised the flat-rate expense allowance for the first time since 2006, from CZK 300 to CZK 450 per act. Per-act rates for monetary claims stayed the same. For disputes whose subject matter cannot be expressed in money, the basic tariff value rose from CZK 10,000 to CZK 30,000. In practice this means noticeably higher awards in cases such as eviction proceedings. The amendment also increased the fixed tariff values in Section 9(3) and (4) (to CZK 65,000 and CZK 113,000) and capped the tariff value at CZK 500,000 in actions to determine rights to real estate or a business (Section 9a).
¶ Five worked examples
All the examples are illustrative and use our current rate of CZK 3,900 per hour excluding VAT and the current version of the attorney tariff. We count the pre-litigation demand as a full act because it contains a basic factual and legal analysis (Section 11(1)(d) of the tariff). A simple demand for payment earns only half the rate (Section 11(2)(h)).
1. Claim for payment of CZK 45,000
The client has an unpaid invoice and the debtor is not responding. We send a pre-litigation demand and then file the claim. After two hearings the court awards the full amount and full costs.
8 hours × CZK 3,900 = CZK 31,200 excl. VAT, with VAT:
5 acts × CZK 2,900 + 5 × CZK 450 allowance = CZK 16,750 excl. VAT, with VAT:
2. Eviction from a flat in Brno
The tenants refuse to move out after the lease has ended. We send a pre-litigation demand and file an action for eviction. After one hearing the court grants the claim.
9 hours × CZK 3,900 = CZK 35,100 excl. VAT, with VAT:
4 acts × CZK 2,300 + 4 × CZK 450 = CZK 11,000 excl. VAT, with VAT:
3. Defective facade: partial success
Repairing the defective facade cost CZK 250,000. After seven hearings and an expert report, the court awards CZK 187,500, a 75% success. Success of 75% set against failure of 25% means that the client recovers 50% of its own costs (75% − 25%). If the amount awarded depended on the expert report, however, the court may award full costs despite the partial success (Section 142(3) of the Code of Civil Procedure). In our example we assume the stricter outcome, where it does not.
25 hours × CZK 3,900, with VAT:
10 acts × CZK 9,300 + allowances, with VAT, reduced to 50%:
4. Claim for CZK 500,000: when the award exceeds the fee
Collection of an unpaid invoice. Pre-litigation demand, claim, three hearings, full success.
10 hours × CZK 3,900, with VAT:
6 acts × CZK 10,300 + allowances, with VAT:
5. Real estate worth CZK 5 million: you also have to plan for losing
An action to determine ownership of real estate. We warn the client about the risk in advance. The proceedings take years: eight hearings at first instance (won), three before the appeal court (reversed), then an extraordinary appeal (dovolání) to the Supreme Court (unsuccessful). Final result: loss. The client bears all the costs.
Given the risk, we offered a reduced rate of CZK 2,900 per hour excluding VAT.
72 hours × CZK 2,900, with VAT:
18 acts × CZK 10,300 (in an action to determine rights to real estate, Section 9a of the tariff caps the tariff value at CZK 500,000) + allowances, the other side's lawyer is registered for VAT: CZK 234,135. On top of that, reimbursement of the appeal fee the other side paid, CZK 5,000:
¶ Overview
| Example | You paid | Court awarded | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Claim CZK 45k | CZK 37,752 | CZK 20,268 | −CZK 17,484 |
| 2. Eviction | CZK 42,471 | CZK 13,310 | −CZK 29,161 |
| 3. Facade (50%) | CZK 117,975 | CZK 58,988 | −CZK 58,987 |
| 4. Claim CZK 500k | CZK 47,190 | CZK 78,045 | +CZK 30,855* |
| 5. Real estate (loss) | CZK 252,648 | −CZK 239,135 | −CZK 510,783 |
¶ What follows from this
We are happy to discuss in more detail, at a personal meeting, what costs you can expect in your particular case. Before you start a dispute, I recommend reading Not every battle is worth fighting and When to go to court and when to mediate. The economics of a dispute are often decided before the first step is even taken. For an overview of what you can procedurally ask the court for (cost orders included), see What you can ask for in a civil lawsuit.
Need a specific cost estimate for your dispute? Tell us what you are dealing with. In our dispute resolution practice we will give you a realistic estimate of what the dispute will cost you and what the court is likely to award you back. Contact.
¶ Frequently asked questions
If I win, will I get back everything I paid my lawyer?
Probably not. The tariff-based award has no direct link to your contractual fee and may be lower than, equal to, or even higher than what you paid.
How are legal costs calculated under the Czech attorney tariff?
Each act of legal service carries a rate based on the tariff value of the dispute, plus a flat-rate expense allowance of CZK 450. If the lawyer is registered for VAT, VAT is added to the award.
What is the per-act rate in a dispute over CZK 500,000?
CZK 10,300 excluding VAT. With six acts and full success, the court awarded CZK 78,045 in the worked example, including allowances and VAT.
What happens if the court awards more than I paid my lawyer?
By law the cost award belongs to you. The other side pays it to your lawyer, but your lawyer must hand it over to you and account for it; whether and how much of it the lawyer may keep depends on your legal services agreement.
Does the other side have to pay the cost award straight away?
Not necessarily. The award creates an enforceable claim, and if the other side does not pay voluntarily, it can be collected through enforcement proceedings.
How much will the court award for legal costs in an eviction case?
In the worked example with four acts, CZK 13,310 including VAT, based on CZK 2,300 per act plus the CZK 450 allowance. Before the 2025 amendment the award would have been only about CZK 8,712.