Pricing Methodology
How Forrest Good PLLC Charges for Time, Evidence, and Court Filings
Forrest Good PLLC publishes flat starting fees for the criminal-defense matters that come up most often in Bexar County and the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. Underneath those starting fees is a methodology that ties pricing to attorney time, evidence load, and the procedural cost of the matter. This page explains that methodology in plain language.
Hourly anchor: $250
Every hour of attorney time on a Forrest Good PLLC matter is anchored at $250. That covers research, document review, motion drafting, court appearances, plea negotiation, witness preparation, and client communication. The starting fee published on each service page reflects the typical-scope hours for that charge tier. When a matter exceeds typical scope, additional hours are billed at $250.
Why misdemeanors require fewer hours than felonies
The hours a charge consumes are driven by three factors:
1. The charging instrument
A misdemeanor complaint generates fewer pretrial motions than a felony indictment. Indictments carry grand-jury procedural complexity, longer discovery, and more substantive evidentiary issues. Bexar County felony indictments routinely involve 30 to 80 attorney hours; a misdemeanor complaint involves 8 to 20.
2. The evidence load
The Bexar County District Attorney’s office produces an offense report, body-camera video, dash-cam video, witness statements, and lab reports for every case. Felony cases routinely include additional evidence types: cell-phone forensic dumps, surveillance footage from multiple cameras, expert reports, and grand-jury transcripts. Each additional evidence type adds review hours.
3. The procedural stakes
State jail and felony cases require deeper motion practice (motion to suppress, motion in limine, Daubert challenges, Confrontation Clause motions), longer plea negotiations, and the possibility of jury trial. Misdemeanor cases typically resolve at the County Court at Law level with less motion practice.
Typical hour bands by charge tier
| Charge tier | Typical hour band | Implied fee at $250/hr |
|---|---|---|
| Class C misdemeanor | 3-6 hours | $750-$1,500 |
| Class B misdemeanor | 8-18 hours | $2,000-$4,500 |
| Class A misdemeanor | 12-22 hours | $3,000-$5,500 |
| State jail felony | 20-35 hours | $5,000-$8,750 |
| 3rd-degree felony | 30-50 hours | $7,500-$12,500 |
| 2nd-degree felony | 40-70 hours | $10,000-$17,500 |
| 1st-degree felony | 60-100 hours | $15,000-$25,000 |
| Federal felony | 50-300 hours (case-by-case) | Scoped via consultation |
Published starting fees on individual service pages may exceed the bottom of the band for that tier. The premium reflects the risk that a given matter will require more hours than the median.
What the starting fee covers (every service)
- Procedural hearings within the matter’s scope (ALR, bond, pretrial)
- Discovery review
- Motion practice: motion to suppress, motion in limine, motions to compel, motions to dismiss
- Plea negotiation with the prosecutor’s office
- One in-person court setting per month during the pendency of the case
- Pretrial proceedings through the trial-court disposition
What the starting fee does NOT cover
Additional costs are disclosed in the engagement letter signed before representation begins.
| Category | Examples | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| Court filing fees | Texas District Clerk fees, motion-filing fees, certified-record fees | Client pays the clerk directly or reimburses Forrest Good PLLC |
| Expert witness fees | Toxicologist, accident reconstructionist, forensic accountant, mental-health expert | Client retains the expert separately; Forrest Good PLLC coordinates |
| Court costs and fines | Imposed at sentencing; vary by court | Client pays at sentencing |
| Investigative services | Private investigator, records procurement, deposition services | Client pays the investigator or service directly |
| Jury trial | Trial-week hours significantly exceed typical scope | Misdemeanor jury trial: starting at $15,000. Felony jury trial: starting at $25,000. |
| Appeals | Court of Appeals brief, oral argument | Quoted separately based on record length and issues preserved |
| Ignition-interlock device | DWI cases | Client pays the device vendor directly |
| BIPP or court-ordered programs | Family-violence cases | Client pays the program directly |
| Mandatory restitution | Federal MVRA, state restitution | Client pays at sentencing |
| Reporter’s record (transcripts) | Appeals, habeas | Client pays the court reporter directly |
When a matter exceeds the typical scope reflected in the starting fee, additional hours are billed at $250. The engagement letter discloses the trigger conditions (e.g., “above N court settings,” “above N hours of evidence review”). Forrest Good PLLC tracks time in 0.1-hour increments and provides itemized billing statements monthly.
How additional costs are estimated
Before the engagement letter is signed, Forrest Good PLLC reviews the charging instrument and the initial discovery package, then estimates the likely additional costs in writing. If actual costs exceed the written estimate by more than 20%, Forrest Good PLLC notifies the client before incurring the cost.
Federal cases are consultation-priced
Federal cases in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas vary too widely in hour load for a published flat fee. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines, mandatory minimums, and discovery volume in federal matters require a case-by-case scoping conversation. The free 30-minute consultation is the starting point for federal representation.
The engagement letter is the binding document
Nothing on this website creates a binding fee or an attorney-client relationship. The engagement letter signed by Forrest Good PLLC and the client is the binding agreement. It discloses the matter-specific starting fee, the scope, the additional-cost estimates, the hourly-billing trigger conditions, and the refund policy for unearned advance fees.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT
Forrest Good PLLC, Attorney at Law
Responsible Party: Forrest Good PLLC
923 S. Alamo St., Suite #2
San Antonio, Texas 78205
(210) 236-1441 · info@forrestgoodpllc.com
Pricing current as of May 2026. Forrest Good PLLC honors the starting fees shown on the catalog while they are published. No attorney-client relationship is formed until a written engagement letter signed by Forrest Good PLLC and the client is in place.
