No. 7
Minimum billings contained within your
retainer agreement for specific services are the fast way to eat through a
client's retainer.
Many lawyers place minimum billings for
certain services within their retainer agreements. For example, some
attorneys charge 1 hour minimum for each time they are in court. These
minimum billings are well known to be a fast way to eat through a client's
retainer, while spending the least amount of time on the case. For some
attorneys, eating through your retainer balance as fast as possible is
important, because by the time you figure out you should fire your lawyer, he or
she does not have the responsibility to refund unearned fees; they are all
gone.
No. 6
Lawyers love the trigger words of
"custody" or "order of protection" when they first meet with
you.
When first meeting with clients,
lawyers are accomplishing a few things all at once. Obviously, they are
writing down the facts of your case to make a determination of the best route in
order to best represent you. But many spouses are unaware that the lawyer
is also thinking about what he or she will charge you on an hourly basis, and
how much he or she will require from you in the form of an initial
retainer. How much you earn and your assets have a lot to do with this
process. However, key trigger words of "custody" and "order of protection"
will likely result in the attorney asking more in the way of his or her hourly
fee, and more for your initial retainer. Therefore, to keep the fees down,
try to avoid telling the attorney that you really, really, want an Order of
Protection, or you believe that this will be a custody
battle.
No. 5
What most spouses do not realize is
that their lawyer and the lawyer for their spouse, despite all their arguing and
animosity for each other, are buddies behind closed doors.
The only reason they do not act
"chummy" in front of you is because of their fear that you do not trust them,
and you and your spouse will fire them and hire different lawyers. The
reality of your case is that the lawyers likely get along famously behind closed
doors, and they compare their personal notes about your case, even after your
case is over.
No. 4
Your lawyer knows upfont whether or not
you can afford a trial in your case.
The biggest mistake that spouses make within a
divorce process is believing that their attorney will stay in the case from
start to end. This is a fatal assumption. When you first hire
attorney, that lawyer will immediately size you up; they will know from
experience whether or not you are going to afford the entire process, and if
they believe you cannot, which many spouses cannot (unless you earn $300,000 per
year), that lawyer has already set into his expectations that he or she may not
prepare your case for trial (because you will not be able to afford
it).
No. 3
Hourly rates and retainer amounts are
arbitrarily set by lawyers only after hearing about your case, your earning
potential and how much you have in assets.
Some spouses seek out and retain lawyers that charge
the most per hour or the most for a retainer because they believe that he or she
must be the best lawyer in town. The reality of the situation is those
spouses are victims of the oldest form of lawyer's marketing. Many lawyers
increase their rates because other attorneys have, or it has come up in
discussion within a Bar Association Meeting. Others set super-high rates
so that prospective clients think that they are getting the best. Having
your client think you are the best accomplishes two missions. First, that
client is more likely to pay on their attorney fee bill when they believe the
services they receive are superior. Second, the lawyer has little to worry
about what's called client control, because clients will more likely take their
lawyer's recommendations. What clients should be doing is listen to
their own inner and likely better judgment. Because this attorney's secret
costs clients a lot of money, it is rated No. 3.
No.2
Divorce lawyers can
drop your case (while you are in the middle of it) with a simple and
fast process.Most spouses in the divorce process have no idea that during the process, for just about any reason whatsoever, their lawyer can drop their case and them as a client by showing the Judge a simple motion. Lawyers sometimes drop a client and their case because the client is too difficult to deal with; however, the typical withdrawal is when a client refuses or fails to pay on their lawyer's fee bill. I am suprised at spouses I meet that thought their lawyer couldn't drop the case, even if they didn't pay.
The withdrawal of attorneys in the middle of a divorce case is fairly common, fairly routine, and you can count on it if you fail to replenish your retainer. That is why I always suggest to spouses that when you hire a lawyer, see if he or she will agree to a payment plan (IN WRITING), once your retainer deposit has run out.
And the No. 1 divorce lawyer's secret:
Unless your case is uncontested (meaning you and your spouse have already agreed on everything), the average case will cost each spouse over $10,000.00! Most people do not realize how fast attorney's fees accrue in a divorce. . .well, divorce lawyers do. Divorce lawyers will not tell you this upfront, because they know it is NOT what you want to hear, and they are fearful that you will not retain them. Most spouses will evetually hire the lawyer that makes them feel more comfortable about the fees. Expressions like "we can wrap this up for about $2,000 to $3,000" are false. The truth is that if some support issues are at issue, you could easily spend $10,000 each for fees. If custody complicates things, the case could cost close to $40,000 or more. If the case involves a number of assets and custody, your fees could easily grow to $100,000 or more. No kidding.
http://www.divorceinfosite.
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2 comments:
The cause of the disability may affect the lawyer you seek as well. Pick a lawyer that you know has the knowledge to build and win a case for your given circumstances.
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