Fees
What it costs
Flat fees, set by the stage your case has reached when you hire us. Later stages take more work, so they cost more. If your case progresses, you will never pay more than if you had waited; you only pay the difference.
Two ways to start
Act now.
We take over: a written plan, communications with Strike 3’s counsel, a preservation letter to your ISP where it helps, the innocence declaration path if the facts truthfully support it, and negotiation. $2,500 before your identity is released.
Wait, monitored.
Our Watch service costs nothing. We monitor your case docket and tell you in plain language when anything happens — an extension, an amended complaint, a dismissal. We do no proactive work and do not contact Strike 3 unless you engage us. If Strike 3 moves, your rate is locked at $2,500 unless you are served. Some cases end with no payment to anyone, for example when Strike 3 dismisses before it identifies the subscriber. Learn how Watch works.
Fees by stage
| Stage | When this applies | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Before identity is released | You have the ISP's notice and its objection deadline has not passed. | $2,500 |
| After identity is released | Your ISP has released your identity to Strike 3, or you have a Strike 3 demand letter. | $3,000 |
| Named, not yet served | An amended complaint names you, but you have not been served. | $3,500 |
| Served | You have been served with a summons and the response deadline is running.Plus pro hac vice and local counsel costs, only where the court requires them. Quoted in writing before anything is incurred. | $4,000 plus pro hac vice and local counsel costs where the court requires them |
| Default or judgment | A default has been entered or a judgment exists. | Quoted after review |
A $500 rush fee applies when fewer than five business days remain before the ISP's objection deadline when you hire us.
A $500 strategy session is credited toward your fee if you engage the firm.
If your case progresses, you will never pay more than if you had waited; you only pay the difference.
Hire us before your identity is released for $2,500. If you are later served, you pay $1,500 more, $4,000 in total.
These fees apply to engagements that begin on or after October 9, 2026. If you hired us before then, the schedule in your engagement agreement still applies, including the pay-the-difference rule.
We represent clients nationwide, in every federal district where Strike 3 Holdings files. We appear directly in courts where one of our attorneys is admitted. Elsewhere, we appear pro hac vice or with local counsel, as each court’s rules require. Most anonymous settlements are negotiated before any court appearance is needed.
What every flat fee includes
- Conflict check, strategy, and a plan in writing
- All communications with Strike 3's counsel
- Preservation letter to the ISP where useful
- The innocence declaration path where the facts truthfully support it
- Negotiation and settlement paperwork, or a negotiated exit
- Closing letter
What is not included
- Pro hac vice admission fees and local counsel fees (served tier and beyond)
- Court filing fees, forensic examination, expert fees
- Litigation phases beyond the first responsive filing
- The settlement amount itself, if any, which is paid to Strike 3, not to the firm
Litigation
Free initial call for everyone.
Litigation strategy session: $500, sixty to ninety minutes with document review, credited toward litigation fees if you engage the firm. May be waived for innocent subscribers with strong facts who cannot afford it.
Litigation fees are quoted by phase after the strategy session: pleadings and motion to dismiss; discovery; summary judgment; trial. Fee-shifting cases may include a share of any fees the court awards under 17 U.S.C. § 505.
The fine print
Flat fees are earned upon receipt and, with your written consent in the engagement letter, are not held in trust. A flat fee is not a retainer or a deposit against hourly billing or case expenses.
Prices are effective for engagements dated on or after the date shown on this page. The price in your signed engagement letter controls.
Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. No attorney-client relationship is formed by reading this page or submitting a form.
Prices on this page are effective for engagements dated on or after .
Talk it through first
The initial call is free and confidential, and you will get a straight answer about which stage your case is in.