How to Save on Attorney Fees (and Get Your Lawyer to Love You)
A family lawyer is one of the most common types of legal professionals hired by everyday people. Here are some tips to help keep costs down. Added bonus: your lawyer will love you.
It’s not a secret that lawyers are expensive. But life is unpredictable, and you may find yourself in a situation where you need one. A family lawyer is one of the most common types of legal professionals hired by everyday people. If you find yourself in this situation, money is probably a concern. But you also don’t want to lose legal representation during one of the most financially consequential things in your life. Strike the right balance: hire a lawyer and keep the following tips in mind to help reduce your costs.
Do the Work Where You Can
Family law, as a legal proceeding, is often navigated by self-represented litigants. Ergo, it’s quite “user-friendly” compared to other areas of law - it’s meant to be done by someone with little to no legal training if necessary. There are many guides from legal organizations that teach you the essentials, and the forms are made as easy as possible to complete. So, if you can: get involved. One of the most common ways clients support the process is by doing their own financial statements. It’s pretty straightforward, just tedious. Still, it’s money you’re not paying a law clerk or a lawyer to do.
Cut Back on Calling Your Lawyer
Calling your lawyer generally isn’t free, and most lawyers have a billable target to hit. They’ll keep you on the phone if you want, but it’s expensive. A lot of clients run up high bills because they call every day just to seek reassurance. You’re better off going to a therapist; it's way cheaper, and that’s the professional best suited for your emotional needs - a lawyer is not.
Not only are calls billable, but afterward a more diligent lawyer may also write a summary of every call and email it to you. The summary is more of their time and therefore more money you spend. The summaries can be helpful; just cut back on how many your lawyer sends you.
Focus Conversations on Substantive Issues
A lot of lawyers talk about wanting clients to make their point faster. But we’re also hesitant to give that advice out of fear that helpful/relevant background information may be omitted. The law is all about context.
When you talk to your lawyer, decide what facts and information are the most essential to the central legal issue(s). And when you are asked questions, give the exact information sought. If your lawyer asked you what your current parenting schedule is and you end up going off on your ex’s new significant other, remember: it’s costing you money to waste your own time with irrelevant details.
Don’t Call Your Lawyer When You’re Mad
Calls with an emotional client are always the longest. Especially when the client is angry. Not only does it take time on the phone, but it also generates unnecessary legal work that you pay for. Angry clients are vindictive and keep lawyers on the phone to try come up with different revenge plans.
The solution a lawyer initially recommends to you is usually the most efficient one. Sure, there are other things you could do in a legal proceeding, but they probably cost more money and create delays. It’s those less efficient solutions that clients are after. They don’t want what will conclude their legal matter quickly; they want what will cause the most harm to the other side.
Remember: harming the other side inevitably harms you. Don’t do it.
These are all things that your lawyer wants you to do btw. It makes our life and job so much easier. If you do your own financial statement, that’s one less task we gotta delegate. If you get to the point quickly, we can have more time to catch up on our work. If you only call us when you’re calm, our mental energy isn’t drained as quickly, and we’re not adding work to our already busy schedules.
Everybody wins.