104 DIVorCe wItH DeCenCY
Divorce attorneys generally charge by the hour. Current rates
usually range upward from $200 per hour. Some top-of-the-line
big-city attorneys charge double, or even triple, that amount.
Most attorneys charge for telephone time and also for any work
they do on your case behind the scenes, in their offices as well
as in court. Attorneys have been known to self-generate billable
events. You can try to keep a lid on this by requesting that you be
notified in advance of any major work that the attorney intends to
perform on your case. You don’t want to give your attorney carte
blanche to file whatever motions or miscellaneous discovery they
happen to feel like filing. What lawyers call the “discovery pro-
cess” can be especially time consuming and costly (and is often
overdone). Ask that these major work-product junctures in the
case be cleared with you first so that you can veto any discovery
or motion filings, etc., that you may feel are unnecessary.
Hot tips to minimize legal fees. Nobody likes paying attorneys’
fees. Here are a few ways to keep them down:
• Make sure your lawyer sends you a detailed written billing
statement each month (even if your retainer is not yet used
up). Keep track of all time you spend with your attorney
(both in person and on the phone). Crosscheck your own
records against the attorney’s bill.
• Ascertain whether minimum time increment charges will
apply and if so how much (some attorneys charge for actual
time spent, while others apply a ten- or fifteen-minute mini-
mum charge). Also, find out who else will be working on
your case in addition to the primary lawyer you are retain-
ing (i.e., other associate attorneys and/or paralegals). Find
out what their hourly charges are.
• Organize as many of your own materials yourself as you
possibly can. I’ve had many clients show up in my office car-
rying shopping bags full of their important, but totally dis-
organized, personal papers. It’s a waste of your attorney’s
time (and your money) to have him or her organize and col-
late your documents. Do it yourself. Save the attorney’s time,
and your legal fees, for actual court appearances (where an
attorney truly is indispensable!).