Since 2004 folks have turned to Indeed to find jobs and employees. Want to become a lawyer? The average base salary for attorneys is $98,822 nationwide, claims Indeed1. Is that how much your Virginia divorce lawyer will make in a year? Probably not. As a potential client, you want to know what you will pay. Legal services, however, are not like buying eggs in a grocery store. Unfortunately, we cannot tell you exactly what your costs will be for your family law matter. But we can tell you how a law office’s finances work.
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- Do Divorce Lawyers Bill Hourly?
- Fees for Other Staff at Law Firms
- What is a Sliding Scale?
- What is Pro Bono?
- What’s the Bottom Line?
Do Divorce Lawyers Bill Hourly?
Law offices bill clients in billable hours broken down into six-minute chunks (one-tenth of an hour). Why? Lawyers charge hourly rates but do not generally take home paychecks based on the number of hours they work.
Indeed says lawyers at large firms work an average of 66 hours a week. A smaller, Virginia family law practice may see attorneys put in 42 to 54 hours a week.
That time is devoted to all of the attorney’s clients: six minutes for this client’s telephone call; 12 minutes for that client’s rough draft of a filing; 36 minutes for a conference for another client.
The attorney is responsible for apportioning the billable time each day, and then other staff in the law office typically keep the running tally of each client’s time and charges.
Fees for Other Staff at Law Firms
Attorneys as a nationwide group may get anywhere from $200 to $2,000 an hour, based on location and type of law they practice. That does not mean your lawyer is charging you $2,000 an hour or anywhere close to that.
You can ask for details about billing when you first meet with your experienced Virginia family law attorney (and a good attorney will encourage you to ask!). Remember, though, attorneys are not the only folks working your case. A typical law office has other staff whose time is billed, too, like legal assistants and paralegals.
What is a Sliding Scale?
Some eager attorneys just starting out in business (hanging out the proverbial shingle) may offer clients a sliding scale of fees, meaning they charge according to a client’s ability to pay. New attorneys in solo practice do this to generate business. It is generally not a sustainable business model.
Attorneys with long, successful careers seldom if ever offer sliding scales. Full payment (a retainer) is expected up front and billing occurs every month, no matter the progress of the case.
And unlike tort law (civil lawsuits for negligence, injury, and the like), family law is not done on a contingency basis. Win or lose, you pay your attorney’s fees.
What is Pro Bono?
An endearing and endless trope in television and movies is the passionate lawyer performing legal work pro bono. Most people know it somehow means “free,” but it is really from a Latin phrase, pro bono publico, meaning “for the public good.”
Pro bono work is done to improve society in general, according to the American Bar Association, in areas like these:
- Consumer fraud
- AIDS-related problems
- Housing
- Immigration
- Taxation
- Environmental law
- Criminal defense
- Elder law
- Death penalty appeals
Family law offices generally do not perform work pro bono because the work does not benefit more than one or two parties. Family law and children’s issues are two areas of pro bono work encouraged by law schools and the ABA. Law students may work in those areas pro bono gaining experience while helping financially struggling clients. Pro bono work is not the daily fare of a private law firm.
What’s the Bottom Line?
We get it. Finding an answer to “what’ll this cost me?” is like nailing Jell-OⓇ to a wall. (Psst – partially freeze it first; you can do it). Naturally when you walk into the attorney’s office you are eyeing the furnishings, the tidy law books, all those computers, the staff milling about. Your case is going to pay for all of that, right?
No.
Your attorney’s business costs are spread across many clients over many years. And your case could cost very little (think uncontested no-fault divorce, for instance). Or your case could drag on for actual years and cost a lot (think contested fault-grounds divorce or a messy child custody conflict).
No attorney in good conscience can tell you at the initial consultation that your separation and divorce will cost X dollars exactly. And while you can find out the billing rate for your attorney (ask!) and the separate billing rates for other staff (ask!) you cannot know with absolute certainty how involved your case will be or how much time your attorney will need.
The Firm For Men can provide clear solutions to your particular needs. Contact us today or telephone our Virginia Beach offices right now at (757) 383-9184. Your case is important, special, and meaningful. Bring it to us and let us help you uphold your rights, safeguard your financial future, and resolve your family law matter.
