9 Ways to Reduce Your Attorney Fees
We get it. Spending your hard-earned money on a lawyer’s service during divorce can feel like adding insult to injury - you’re already suffering through a break up and reorganization of your life, and handing your money over to a lawyer who charges high prices just adds to the stress. So we compiled this list to help you learn some simple ways to reduce your fees.
Represent yourself, with a lawyer’s help. You don’t have to hire a lawyer to get divorced. California family law is built to allow parties to represent themselves. But even if you do represent yourself, you can still get help from a lawyer who operates in the background without becoming a formal part of the case, giving you advice and guidance as you conduct your case on your own. That way, you can choose when to pay your lawyer - if you get stuck, you can schedule a consultation and spend just a few hundred dollars instead of thousands.
Look into a-la-carte services. Similarly, you can hire a lawyer just for particular parts of your case. Does going to court by yourself stress you out? Hire a lawyer just for that hearing. Feeling overwhelmed by the paperwork? Hire a lawyer to complete just those documents that are causing you stress. A huge benefit of a-la-carte services is that you can often negotiate a flat-fee instead of a traditional retainer agreement.
Consider sharing the cost by hiring a neutral. Many people don’t know that they don’t have to hire two attorneys for their family case. Instead, consider hiring a neutral attorney whose purpose it to help the parties reach a settlement based on the law and their particular circumstances. That attorney looks to maximize the settlement for both parties, rather than protecting or promoting the goals of just one party. If at any point you feel like you need your own attorney, you can always seek one who is looking out just for you or to review the work you did with the neutral.
Avoid going to court if possible. It takes a lot of work for a lawyer to prepare for court. There are documents that must be prepared and filed, declarations from the parties and witnesses that must be completed, and evidence that must be gathered and collected. Then the hearing itself - you’ll be paying your attorney not just for the time they spend advocating for you in the courtroom, but the time they spend waiting for the hearing to start and driving to the courthouse.
Keep your emails brief and to the point. Your lawyer is obligated to review everything you send to them. Lengthy emails can take an hour or more of an attorneys time to review and respond - meaning you likely spend several hundreds of dollars on just one email exchange. You can lower your costs by carefully composing your emails, ensuring you are not repeating yourself or making your communications unnecessarily difficult to understand. And of course, make sure you write with a clear head and cool mind - don’t write to your attorney when you’re exhausted, upset, or intoxicated.
Provide complete and accurate information, promptly. Attorneys like to be detailed and thorough; it’s a big part of the job. You can save yourself a lot of time and money simply by following your attorney’s instructions and gathering the information and documents they need as soon as they ask and the first time they ask. If you don’t provide everything they need the first time, your lawyer may spend time chasing that information down, either by repeatedly asking you or by seeking it from third parties - and they will charge you for every minute they spend trying to find what you might be able to provide easily.
Don’t treat your lawyer like your therapist. We know that divorce is hard, stressful, and anxiety-provoking. But lawyers are not therapists, and you will waste a lot of time and money if you spend your time with your attorney telling them why your marriage fell apart, why your ex was so terrible or venting the understandably overwhelming emotions triggered by the process. Your attorney will likely listen and be sympathetic - but will charge you for doing so, and at rates much higher than most mental health professionals.
Trust your attorney; if you don’t, find a new one. You can save yourself a lot of money simply by listening to your attorneys’ advice. This seems straightforward, but you might be surprised how many times attorneys find themselves struggling with clients who refuse to follow their instructions or constantly question the accuracy of their advice. That doesn’t mean lawyers can’t make mistakes - but if you don’t trust your attorney, get a second opinion, or a new attorney all together, then listen and do what they say.
Keep settlement as your goal. 95% of divorce cases settle, even after going to court. Keep this in mind as you work through your divorce, recognizing that you might have to compromise in order to get the thing done. A few concessions to the other party might be worth it to save you thousands on attorney fees.
Following these steps can save you thousands of dollars on your divorce, making it easier to move forward with your life.