How Much Does a Criminal Defence Lawyer Cost in Spain? Fees Explained (2026)

How much does a criminal defence lawyer cost in Spain? There is no single rate and no official scale: fees are freely agreed between client and lawyer, and the amount depends on the seriousness of the offence, the complexity of the matter, the stage of the proceedings, the court involved and the number of steps required. This article explains, in general terms, how the cost is calculated, which documents govern the financial relationship and what information the client is entitled to receive.

What drives the cost

The price of a criminal defence is not arbitrary: it reflects the work the matter demands. The objective factors that weigh most are:

• The seriousness of the alleged offence and the penalty the person under investigation or accused is facing.
• The complexity of the case: number of facts, of accused persons, of items of evidence and of expert reports.
• The size of the file: proceedings running to dozens of volumes, with intercepted communications or extensive documentary evidence, take far longer to study than a twenty-page police report.
• The stage of the proceedings at which the lawyer steps in: entering during the investigation is not the same as taking over a case already listed for trial, or preparing an appeal against a judgment.
• The court involved: a minor-offence trial before the investigating court is not comparable to a trial before a Criminal Court, a Provincial Court or a jury court, nor to a cassation appeal before the Supreme Court.
• The number of procedural steps: statements, appearances, hearings and investigative measures.
• Urgency and the existence of precautionary measures: a detention, or a hearing under article 505 of the Criminal Procedure Act to decide on pre-trial detention, requires immediate action and concentrates a great deal of work into a few hours.

How the fee varies by procedural stage

In practice, fees are usually budgeted stage by stage, because the work each part of the Spanish criminal process and its successive stages demands is very different:

• Investigation: the inquiry itself, attendance at statements, requesting investigative measures and arguing over the evidence and any precautionary measures.
• Intermediate stage and trial: the defence pleading, preparing the hearing, proposing evidence, cross-examination and the taking of evidence before the court.
• Appeals: appeal before the Provincial Court or the High Court of Justice, and cassation before the Supreme Court. This is essentially technical, written work on the judgment already handed down.

Budgeting by stage means the client knows at every point what has been paid for and what continuing would involve, because each stage is engaged when it arrives.

What a stage fee usually covers

As a rule, conducting one stage of a defence covers studying the case and the file, drafting the procedural pleadings, attending statements and procedural steps, conducting the defence at the hearings and advising the client throughout that stretch. No rule fixes that scope in general terms: it is whatever the parties agree, which is precisely why it should be recorded in writing. You can read more about how a criminal defence is organised across the proceedings.

What the retainer (provisión de fondos) is

The retainer, known in Spain as the provisión de fondos, is an advance on account of the fees and foreseeable expenses, customarily paid when the engagement is taken on. It is neither compulsory nor an additional cost: it is a payment on account of the total that allows work to start at once —studying the file, taking the first steps— and it is deducted from the final account. Like any other financial term, its amount, its purpose and the way it is credited against the total should be in writing, together with what happens to any unused balance if the engagement ends earlier than expected.

The engagement letter: a client safeguard

The General Statute of the Spanish Legal Profession (Royal Decree 135/2021) requires the lawyer to inform the client, before starting any professional work, about the viability of the matter and about the fees and costs of the engagement by presenting the engagement letter (articles 27 and 48), as well as about the consequences of a possible costs order. The bar associations publish model engagement letters to encourage their use. Article 28 adds the duty to issue an invoice itemising the fee headings and listing the expenses. Where the client is acting as a consumer, Spanish consumer protection legislation (Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007) reinforces the requirement of clear pre-contractual information on the total price and the terms of the service.

A well-drafted engagement letter generally records: the identification of the parties; the subject matter of the engagement (which case and which steps are being instructed); the stage or stages of the proceedings covered; the fees and method of payment, including the retainer; the treatment of expenses and disbursements payable to third parties; and the terms applicable if either side withdraws. The clearer the document, the less room there is for later misunderstandings, and it is worth reading carefully before signing.

Expenses and disbursements are not fees

A lawyer's fees should not be confused with the expenses and disbursements of the proceedings, which are paid to third parties: the fees of the procurador or court representative, whose involvement is required in most criminal proceedings though not in minor-offence trials; party-appointed expert witnesses; sworn translations; copies and travel. Criminal proceedings in Spain carry no court fee for exercising the right of defence. It is therefore worth having the engagement document state which items fall outside the fee and how they are advanced.

Why there are no published rates or fee scales

Since Law 25/2009 (the so-called Ómnibus Act), which brought Spanish legislation into line with Services Directive 2006/123/EC, professional bar associations may not set indicative fee scales or issue any other guidance, recommendation, directive or rule on fees. The price is freely agreed between client and lawyer.

The only exception is the one laid down in the fourth additional provision of Law 2/1974 on Professional Associations: bar associations may draw up indicative criteria for the exclusive purposes of the assessment of costs and of the summary claim for unpaid fees. That nuance matters: those criteria are not a market rate and cannot be used to anticipate what a defence will cost; they only apply when a court has to assess costs or when an unpaid bill is claimed through the courts. Beyond that, publishing a figure without knowing the offence, the stage and the complexity of the matter would be misleading: two seemingly similar cases can demand very different work —and therefore very different cost.

Fees linked to the outcome: the cuota litis agreement

A cuota litis agreement links the lawyer's remuneration to the outcome of the case. It was banned by the professional conduct code of the Spanish legal profession until the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court, in its judgment of 4 November 2008, annulled that prohibition as contrary to competition law, in line with the position taken by the competition authorities. Since then it is not prohibited as a general rule. Whether it is useful in criminal matters is a different question: a defence rarely involves a sum claimed on which to calculate a percentage, and the outcome turns on a judicial ruling on criminal liability, so remuneration is normally structured by stage instead.

Duty lawyers, legal aid and instructing privately

Three things are often confused. The duty scheme (turno de oficio) is the legal assistance service organised by the bar associations: anyone who does not appoint a lawyer of their own is assigned a duty lawyer, bound by the same professional conduct duties and providing fully professional representation. The right to legal aid is governed by Law 1/1996 of 10 January: a person who proves insufficient means to litigate, measured against the statutory thresholds linked to the IPREM index, is exempt from paying the lawyer's fees and the court representative's charges. These are separate matters: a duty lawyer may be assigned to someone who does not meet the financial requirements, in which case that lawyer is paid by the client. Instructing privately, finally, means engaging a lawyer of your own choosing directly. It is not a question of quality against the duty scheme but of choice, and the decision on whom to appoint always rests with the person concerned.

What to ask before signing

Before signing an engagement letter, it is reasonable to ask for clarification on at least the following:

• Which stage the agreed amount covers and exactly which steps it includes.
• What falls outside the fee (expenses, expert witnesses, court representative, other stages of the proceedings).
• What the retainer covers and how it is credited against the total.
• Who will run the case and who will attend the statements and hearings.
• What happens if the proceedings are discontinued early, or if you decide to change lawyer.
• What the financial consequences of a possible costs order would be.

A transparent professional answers these questions readily and puts the answers in writing. For more on making the decision, see the guide on how to choose a criminal defence lawyer in Spain and the criteria that matter.