Lawyers & Fees

Assuming that you choose to be represented by legal counsel in your divorce action, most people would agree that you are already one step ahead of those who chose to remain unrepresented.  After all, your attorney has been down this road before.  Tell your lawyer everything he or she asks and everything they need to know.  Follow your lawyer’s advice.

On the other hand, it is your family, your life and your money.  Only you know what is essential, what is important, and what is unimportant to you.  Your lawyer does not know the facts of the case the way you do.

Once you establish a client-lawyer relationship, you set the agenda and the goals, and your lawyer decides on the strategy and tactics to achieve those goals (or tells you if they believe they are not achievable).  If your divorce litigation is viewed as a business enterprise, you are both the CEO and the support staff, while your attorney is senior management.

Attorneys come in all flavors.  Some are lazy.  Others realize the vast amounts of money that can be made from inspiring litigation (trials, court motions, etc.).  You do not want a lazy attorney.  Nor do you want an attorney who will charge thousands of dollars in order to wage a protracted battle in front of a judge just to get the same deal you could have gotten by settling with your spouse.

As you begin your search for an attorney, make a list of questions to ask and interview prospective lawyers.  Information is power.  You need answers from the attorneys before you decide what to do in hiring an attorney.  Only make the decisions if you have the answers.

Most people going through a divorce are concerned about legal costs.  In many cases, their concern is justified because divorce or family law litigation in Massachusetts can be very expensive. The stress of this additional expense is just about the last thing people going through a divorce need or are thinking about.

However, obtaining competent and zealous advice can actually reduce the overall legal cost by helping the parties to avoid making decisions that complicate their case or prejudice their rights.

Hiring a divorce lawyer is hard because not everything is as it seems.  Take hourly rates.  It is easy to be scared away from an attorney whose fee is $400.  Another lawyer might list his fee at $200.  But if the $400-an-hour lawyer does his work in half the time of the $200-an-hour lawyer, who’s cheaper?

In addition to the hourly rate, potential clients usually are asked to pay a retainer, often about 15 times the listed hourly rate.

Wait a minute, you might think.  Doesn’t the hourly billing rate encourage the lawyer to drag out cases to earn more money?  Although this might seem easy, within the Massachusetts Rules of Conduct, it is unethical for a lawyer to deliberately drag out (“churn,” as lawyers say) a case.  Another deterrent is that when a case drags on, lawyers can lose clients, or clients will not be able to afford to continue paying.  It’s possible that the lawyer won’t collect everything they’re owed.  Whatever they don’t get paid is written off and, in effect, reduces their hourly rate.  On the other hand, if the lawyer finishes the work within the amount of time covered by the retainer, they get their full hourly rate and come out ahead.

Does that mean you don’t have to pay your bill?  No.  However, it does mean if ethics don’t stop a lawyer from dragging out a case, the practical realities of collection will.

Even still, there are attorneys who are known for running up bills.  But excessive costs usually are caused by clients who want their lawyers to wage war against a cheating spouse.  The easiest thing in the world is for a lawyer to say “sure.”  And the meter starts running.  The lawyer can start taking depositions of family members and demanding financial documents dating back 20 years.  They can assign a private detective to get pictures.

“Clients are often initially thrilled by their lawyer’s sending out hundreds of pages of discovery requests and an avalanche of subpoenas that seek an initial knockout of their spouse,” says one Probate and Family Court Judge. “This can add tens of thousands to the bill, and there are plenty of attorneys happy to go along.”

If all this will make you feel happy and complete, fine.  But it mainly ensures that a good part of the family’s assets is delivered to the attorney. 

Best advice:  Do a cost-benefit analysis.  In a divorce, it is easy to get caught up in the emotion and make all of your decisions from that vantage point.  This can be a mistake though; spending some time analyzing your case from a logical, cost-benefit perspective can pay dividends.  Keep your eye on the ball and stay focused on getting the divorce finished so you can move on with your life.  It is not uncommon for divorcing people to do things like spend $500 to get a $100 microwave oven.  Don’t do it.  If you can’t see a clear connection between your actions and achieving a final resolution of your case, don’t take that action.