Making the Most of Your Legal Fees
When you hear the word attorney or lawyer, do you immediately associate the word expensive? I want to introduce you to some ways in which you can help use your legal dollars most effectively.
First, a “retainer” is an estimate that an attorney quotes, based upon the facts that you have provided about your case. Attorneys bill their fees at an hourly rate, which means that for every minute spent working on your case, you are billed based upon the hourly rate stipulated in your contract. Every phone call, every letter, every memo, every court appearance, every email, and every conference is billed to you at the attorney’s hourly rate. So, when you are seeking an attorney, pay particular attention to the hourly rate, rather than merely the retainer quoted.
If, at the conclusion of your case, your retainer has not been exhausted, it is the general practice of a most firms to refund any money you have remaining. However, you may come across attorneys that quote nonrefundable retainers. Keep in mind that if you have been quoted such a retainer, this means that should your case finish and you have retainer money left, you will not be refunded that money. I would steer away from such an arrangement for two reasons: (1) In the event you develop a negative relationship with your attorney while your case is ongoing, it would make it difficult, if not impossible, for you to seek new counsel due to the large amount of money remaining with your current attorney. (2) The facts that you initially provide to your attorney, upon which he or she has based your retainer, may change. For instance, you may initially believe you will have a fully contested divorce action, but after a short time discover that you are able to compromise a settlement with the other party. This results in less litigation and, therefore, less attorney time and fees. If you provided a nonrefundable retainer, you could wind up paying your attorney a great deal of money that he or she did not earn.
Here are a few more ways that you can preserve your retainer. When you meet with your attorney, be prepared. Outline the points you want to cover on paper. This will help you stay on track, which will result in less time, and thus less money, expended.
When an incident or argument with the other party arises, think it through before you involve your attorney. Often, arguments between the parties, although unsettling, are not a matter for your attorney. If there is nothing that can be done legally, but you merely need to vent, the best thing to do is call a friend or relative, not your attorney who is charging you to listen. However, you should always document such incidents in writing and provide copies to your attorney, so that he or she can determine at a later time whether this is something that needs to be addressed further.
There may be times when your attorney needs information from you. Always provide as much accurate information as possible. If the attorney has to find the information through other sources, then this will cost you the attorney’s hourly rate, and possibly substantial additional costs of litigation.
I speak from the perspective of an attorney whose focus is in the field of family law. However, I believe these simple guidelines can be applied to many areas of the legal profession. The bottom line is that you want the best outcome for your situation and we want to help you achieve that without exhausting your financial resources.