Schedule of rates — Loren T. Atherley, PhD

Tiers

Consulting tiers

Applies to government, research, and advisory engagements. Legal and litigation work is priced separately below and does not use these tiers. A public agency retaining the practice in a litigation matter is billed at the litigation rates, not at the public sector tier.

Public sector, government, academic and non-profitMunicipal, county, state and federal agencies; accredited academic institutions; non-profit organizations $255/hour
For-profit and corporateThree-hour minimum, billed at engagement initiation $1,000/hour
For-profit — Rush/Night and WeekendApplies to for-profit engagements only $1,500/hour

Night and Weekend: Work performed outside 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM Monday to Friday, Pacific Time, or on federal holidays.
Rush: Deliverables requested within 72 hours of assignment.

Tiers reflect the resources of the retaining organization. They do not reflect a difference in the work performed: the record reviewed, the methods applied, and the opinion reached are the same at every rate.

Litigation

Legal and litigation

All litigation work is billed at a single set of rates that does not vary by the identity of the retaining party. The same rate applies whether the client is a public agency, a plaintiff firm, or a defense firm, and applies to every form of engagement listed under legal consulting, testifying and non-testifying alike.

AnalysisFile review, report preparation, conferences with counsel, preparation for testimony$650/hour
StandbyTime reserved and held for trial or hearing attendance but not spent testifying$325/hour
On the recordDeposition and trial testimony$850/hour
On the record beyond six hoursPer day, per proceeding$1,700/hour
TravelFifty percent of the analysis rate$325/hour

A single rate across all retaining parties means the fee does not vary with the side that engages the witness. Billing begins on written confirmation of engagement.

Rush, night and weekend

Litigation work performed outside ordinary hours, or on short notice, carries a 50% uplift.

Analysis$975/hour
Standby$487.50/hour
On the record$1,275/hour
On the record beyond six hours$2,550/hour
Travel$487.50/hour

Night and weekend: Work performed outside 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM Monday to Friday, Pacific Time, or on federal holidays.
Rush: Work required within 72 hours of assignment, including a deposition, hearing, or appearance noticed on less than 72 hours’ notice.
Uplifts do not compound: Where the rush uplift and the ten-hour provision below would both apply to the same hour, the higher of the two governs. They are not applied in sequence.

Appearance days

A deposition day is billed for time on the record, subject to a four-hour minimum. A trial or hearing day is billed in two components: time on the record at the testimony rate, and the remainder of the day, when the witness is reserved but not testifying, as standby. A trial day carries an eight-hour minimum made up of both components together, because an appearance consumes the day whether or not the witness is called.

On the record: Time engaged in testimony, including recesses taken during the proceeding.
Standby: Arises in connection with attendance at trial or a hearing, where the eight-hour daily minimum applies. Standby counts toward that minimum and toward the length of the day, but not toward the six-hour threshold. Standby on a day that is neither testimony nor travel, but is logistically necessary and prevents other billable work, is agreed case by case in advance.
The six-hour threshold: Time on the record beyond six hours in a single day is billed at $1,700. Applied per day and per proceeding; time does not aggregate across days.
Days beyond ten hours: Where standby and time on the record together exceed ten hours, every hour past the tenth carries a further 30% on top of whatever rate that hour already attracts. Standby becomes $422.50, testimony $1,105, and testimony beyond the six-hour threshold $2,210.
Minimums: Four hours for a deposition day and eight for a trial or hearing day, the latter counted across time on the record and standby together. Each day is billed at the greater of the applicable minimum or the time actually worked. A minimum does not itself trigger the six-hour or ten-hour provisions.

Worked example

A trial day. On site from 7:30 to 18:30, eleven hours. On the record from 9:00 to 16:00, seven hours.

Six hours on the recordAt $850$5,100.00
One hour on the record beyond sixAt $1,700$1,700.00
Four hours standbyAt $325$1,300.00
Eleventh hour of the dayA standby hour, plus 30%$97.50
Total for the dayAbove the eight-hour minimum, so actual time governs$8,197.50

Retainer

Litigation retainerPayable on execution of the letter of agreement, before work begins$5,000

How it is applied: Fees and expenses are drawn against the retainer as they are incurred. Once it is exhausted, work continues and is invoiced monthly at the rates above.
What it is not: The retainer is neither an estimate of the total fee nor a cap on it. A matter that requires more work than the retainer covers will be billed for that work.
Non-refundable: The retainer is earned on engagement and is not refundable. It compensates the reservation of availability and the conflicting engagements that acceptance forecloses. It does not depend on the content of any opinion or on the outcome of the matter.

Retainer arrangements for government, research, and commercial engagements are available on request and are negotiated in advance.

Consultation

Initial consultation

A scoping conversation held before any agreement is executed. No opinion on the merits is offered or formed at this stage.

Legal, government, academic and non-profitUp to 30 minutes No charge
CommercialUp to 60 minutes. Credited against the first invoice if an agreement is executed $500flat

Billing

Billing conditions

Time increments: Billed in 15-minute increments. Partial increments are rounded up.
Expenses: Travel time and travel expenses are the responsibility of the client. Documented out-of-pocket expenses are billed at cost with no markup, and include airfare, lodging, ground transport, per diem, reproduction, postage, and third-party services required to complete the engagement. Air travel is booked in business class or a superior cabin; lodging at a business-standard hotel at or near the location of the engagement.
Invoicing: Issued on completion of the engagement, or at the end of each calendar month for ongoing engagements, whichever occurs first. Net 30 unless the letter of agreement specifies otherwise.
Late payment: Balances unpaid 30 days after the invoice date accrue a service charge of 1.5% per month. Accounts that remain unpaid are referred to collections, and the client is responsible for the costs of collection.
Deposits: Litigation engagements require the $5,000 retainer described above. Commercial consulting engagements may require a deposit equal to the three-hour minimum before work commences, applied to the final invoice.
Cancellation: A scheduled deposition, testimony, or site visit cancelled on fewer than 72 hours’ notice is billed at four hours of standby. Cancellation on fewer than 24 hours’ notice is billed at the full minimum for the scheduled activity, four hours for a deposition and eight for a day of trial testimony, at the standby rate.
Scope changes: Any expansion beyond the scope recorded in the letter of agreement requires written authorization and is billed at the applicable rate.

General

All rates are in United States dollars.
Rates are subject to revision on 30 days’ written notice to existing clients.
This schedule is not a contract. Engagement terms are governed by a fully executed letter of agreement between the parties.
Any engagement may be declined.

Effective 2026 · Supersedes all prior schedules

How an engagement begins Request the standard letter of agreement