Tips on Controlling Your Legal Fees
When hiring an attorney for a family law matter, it may be your first time working with an attorney. For most family law cases with The Manely Firm, you will be billed hourly for time spent working on your matter. If you’ve never worked with an attorney, it may be surprising how quick those fees add up. If you hope to control the costs of your family law matter, we recommend keeping the following tips in mind:
1. Be Responsive
From the beginning of your case, your paralegal will be your primary point of contact. They will send emails with detailed instructions and requests for information and documents. If you do not check your email regularly, you may miss important updates and information. This could cause delays in your matter and require multiple communications that could have been resolved if you checked your email regularly and responded promptly and thoroughly to all inquiries.
2. Stay Organized
When your trial team tells you that they need documents for discovery or evidence for a trial, provide the information as quickly as possible and in the most organized fashion. Providing documents in a disorganized fashion can greatly increase fees while the trial team sifts through information.
3. Limit Back-And-Forth
When you are in the process of negotiations, you may be presented with settlement offers. It is very important that you thoroughly read every document that is sent from your legal team. Every time you request revisions or changes to documents, it costs time and money. It could save both if you identify all potential revisions the first time you read the document. Remember that settling and avoiding trial is always going to be the most cost-effective way to resolve your family law case.
4. Be Honest
Don’t hide information from your attorney. Hiding assets, photos, documents, or critical information could cause your case to spiral out of control. Trust me, you’d rather your attorney know everything up front so they can focus on what’s realistic and provide you with the most accurate advice. You don’t want fees or penalties because your attorney is doing damage control.
5. Don’t Use AI
With the advent of AI, it may be extremely tempting to lean on ChatGPT or other generative AI platforms when you want legal advice. Don’t do it. You hired an attorney to advise you, trust them. AI can lead you to believe certain outcomes are possible, when they are completely unrealistic and potentially impossible. The Manely Firm has experience and knowledge that cannot be replicated by AI. Save yourself headache, time, and money by trusting your legal team to provide you with sound advice.
6. Stay Calm
Family law matters are rarely created when everyone is happy and getting along great. Your emotions may be running high and hot during the legal process, but it is important to stay calm and level-headed when making decisions. Making decisions out of anger, spite, fear, or revenge can unexpectedly cause legal fees to increase. Staying calm and approaching case decisions with a level-head will keep your fees low and your case predictable.
7. Final Thoughts
Family law is emotional. Your life, your family, and your future hangs in the balance during a family law case. It is extremely stressful. When you are in a stressful situation, the last thing you want to do is add financial strain. Keep these tips in mind, and you will be in a much better position.
Emily Rose Johnston
