My lawyer...

[gooddadgoingmad]

I just wanted to share with you guys what my lawyer told me yesterday.

First of all, I feel I have a great lawyer. I chose to retain a lawyer from a firm which deals with family law only. It didn't start out so good and I was given a lawyer who was not a partner, and who I later found out was pregnant and taking maternity leave 2 months after I retained her. Now don't get me wrong, I have no prob with the fact that she was taking maternity leave, but I felt that she should have told me when I interviewed her in the beginning. What ended up happening was that two weeks ago, she informed me that in one week she would be leaving to take her leave, and I would be given another lawyer from the firm. I was left very frustrated because I had one week to update the new lawyer for my court hearing and also, I felt strongly that it should have been MY decision as to who would represent me...not hers. Also, I honestly would not have retained her had I known she'd be leaving so soon....just because I felt that I really wanted to develope a good, solid relationship with my lawyer and that is something that would take time to do. In any event, it worked out for me because I was given a fantastic, very accomplished and seasoned lawyer who I like MUCH more. He is so easy to talk to and I can tell he is committed to my case and believes in fighting for me.

So I digress from the original intent of this post. Ha! He told me yesterday that I shouldn't worry too much about my legal fees. He said that I can take as long as I need ( obviously, within reason ) to pay. I think he understands how much stress I have been under and this was his way of giving me some room to breath with finances and so that I don't worry about suddenly getting hit with a huge legal bill that would have to be paid before he can continue. He has made it clear that he will keep trudging forth regardless and that I can pay whatever I am able to manage every month. I think this was fantastic and it certainly is a load off my back!! He is also very committed to keeping the cost down for me and we've discussed how we can do this. He even talked to my trustee in bankruptcy and talked them down from a fee of 800 to 400 for the cost of conveying my half interest in the house to my ex.

So I 'm wondering about other ppls experience with legal fees and how their lawyers are about giving some breathing room.

I feel very blessed to have this person in my corner!

GDGM ( this post is so scattered, forgive me!!! )

[Grace]

That's good news for you, one less stress to worry about. I've haven't heard of a family law lawyer giving that much of a break to their clients. Most ask for up front retainers.

I have two lawyers a Sr. that oversees the file and does all the arguing in court and a Jr. lawyer that does all the prep work. This helps keep fees down as the Jr. lawyer, I think your suppose to call them Associates, bill at a lessor hourly rate. My legal fees are still high as we are litigating through the court system.

My pet peeve is the court time wasted. Take for example a motion. The lawyers meter starts billing full tilt when they leave their office and head to court. Everyone is called for a 9:30 start. My file has been sealed by the courts (not open to the public) so I'm usually the last case heard. So I'm paying to lawyers to sit and wait. Well, I wait, their on their blackberry's. Anyone notice the lawyers in court all addicted to these?

I litigate with a large firm, I dont think they would give you a break on the bill. I'm billed quarterly and the payment is due upon receipt.

Your post are sounding more upbeat GD, I hope everything works out for you. Good Luck

[Jenny]

Good to hear gdgm. I am assuming you retained her by phone? being that you would have been a distance away?

My lawyer is awesome with fees. I knew I had run out of the first retainer and offered to come in and pay more - she was easy going, just said next time you are in. She also bills at a fairly low rate and reasonable charges. I've seen my ex's bills and they are WAY higher than mine, which is funny because she charges a lower hourly rate than my lawyer.

I know of someone who is also going through a divorce and her lawyer is also really good about small retainers and stuff.

If I was a lawyer though I would definitely want upfront money ;-) Nothing wrong with wanting to be paid in a timely manner and the retainer pretty much ensures that. Especially with such an emotionally charged and expensive thing as divorce.

Grace - I can totally see that being aggravating.

I've dealt with lawyer's at big firms with another matter and the associates would change all the time. I think in the year I dealt with them I went through about 5 - they would all leave the firm for greener pastures. It must have been hell to work there. lol

[gooddadgoingmad]

Hi Jenny

Yes, I did retain her via phone. Before I came here to work I had legal aid but as soon as I started to make decent money, I had to get my own lawyer. I knew it was coming. I have to say, though, I found legal aid to be useless and it always seemed to me that my lawyer (legal aid) was too busy to deal with me and also didn't seem to be interested in taking command of the situation. I find with my new, hired lawyer, that he is taking charge of the situation, is very efficient and has taken a sincere interest in my case. It turns out he had a buddy who also worked up North and apparently this guy told my lawyer of the astronomically high cost of living here. That was good for me because it really allowed my lawyer to see how things really are for me here, and it totally validated my statements with regards to same.

Grace, I actually did pay a reatainer when I hired my lawyer...Ha!...a reatainer which has run out! What is the normal amount of a retainer anyways?

GDGM