Federal Employees: You be the Judge

Most do require a retainer, but typically these are done in stages (ie Informal complaint, then filing formal through the investigation, request hearing and depositions, then hearing). Expect to need to come up with about $5k (more or less) for the first retainer. However, most good federal law attorneys will provide a free review of your case and let you know the odds of success (no case is a slam-dunk win, as who knows what a judge may rule on any day, and any attorney says a case is should be run away from!) A good attorney can tell you if you have a good case with a solid fact pattern and a good chance of success. They should also tell you if you are fighting an up-hill battle with little to no chance of success.

Gilbert Employment Law (https://www.gelawyer.com/) or Tully Rinckey (https://www.tullylegal.com/) are a couple of the better federal employment law groups out there.

Whatever you do, make certain the lawyer you hire has federal employment law experience. You do not want to be their first case! Federal employment law is a specialized practice and lawyers with state level or private sector experience often show their lack of knowledge when things get complicated. I've mediated cases where a lawyer has shown they know nothing about federal employment law (and when I have looked them up afterwards, find out they specialize in property law, or patent cases or are simply the local lawyer you call for traffic offenses, etc). Not all lawyers are created equal, and you want one who specializes in the area of the law you need a lawyer for! Same reason you don't go to a podiatrist for brain surgery!