I have what seems to me to be a small legal problem.
I am currently in China, so I emailed several attorneys in America that I found online.
Three of them replied, and they quoted fees ranging from $800 to $900.
I then emailed a very good friend of mine, and he suggested that I contact an attorney that he knows. That attorney quoted me a fee of $2500.
My main consideration is just having an attorney that will take care of this problem quickly without putting it on the back burner.
It is difficult for me to know if the first 3 attorneys low-balled me, or if the recommended attorneys fee is too high, or is even negotiable.
I do not mind paying a fair fee for quality services. What is a typical hourly rate for an attorney ?
Are attorneys fee negotiable, and what is the suggested method of negotiating ?
My friend that recommended the attorney is a very successful multi-millionaire.
Would that have possibly affected the fee that I was quoted ? I am not a multi-millionaire 
Thanks for any and all advice.
Simple Homer, there really isn’t a lot of useful advice we can offer here. Attorney fees vary widely, depending on jurisdiction, practice area, the attorney’s experience, and so on. Fees will also vary, of course, based on the length of time you need to hire the attorney for - most US attorneys charge an hourly rate, though some do not.
I’m not an attorney but I think you’d get laughed at if you tried to “negotiate” their fees. You get what you pay for.
Attorney’s fees like anything else are negotiable. The bigger question is "do you have any negotiating leverage? Is there the possibility of repeat business? Is the market for attorney’s where you are shopping is excess supply or short supply?
As Mr. Excellent indicates, fees for attorney’s services vary by type of expertise and region.
You will need to provide a bit more information before many of us can help.
And, at the risk of playing junior mod, you really shouldn’t. Posting details of one’s legal troubles on Teh Intartoobs is not wise. Talk to your lawyer, or prospective lawyer, about reducing costs. Don’t talk to us.
I can recall threads in the past where people mentioned negotiating with dentists.
Why would an attorney be any different ?
Sure you can negotiate, but as mentioned, if the attorney has plenty of business at full rate, the attorney may not want to bother dropping the rate, especially for a small one-off matter with little prospect of reaping future work from it. If the attorney wants the work and you claim hardship and/or a potentially good referral source, then the attorney might cut you a deal.
I had an artist who was short on cash offer me a percentage of her sales once. I didn’t take the offer, but I didn’t find anything wrong with her attempt to negotiate.
If I was in that situation, the attorney could have whatever he asked for, and I would not be bargain shopping.
I am not seeking an attorney for a legal problem in China.
I have a small legal problem back home in America.
Oh. I was gonna suggest hiding out in China 'til the statute of limitations runs out. 