Well, I can confidently give the other side of the perspective of "Legal Aid's Wings".
Ex and I worked through all the issues and will be officially divorced in a few days.
My first lawyer I paid for myself. I went through $5,000 that was lent to me by a family member to send a few letters and prepare an application. That firm did alot of "hand holding" by telephone as they rang up the bill. I have to pay back that money to the relative. At the time I mistakenly thought that legal aid did not cover divorce/custody issues.
When I applied for legal aid, my financial situation was dire. I needed child support and was entitled to compensatory spousal support. I qualified for legal aid outright, no repayment plan, no violence issues.
In less than a year, my legal aid lawyer got the proper child support ordered and a reasonable/compromised amount of spousal. He went to a case conference and a settlement conference and worked our thorough and lengthy separation agreement.
Total cost to Legal Aid?? $1,717. Yes, for the whole thing.
I was given a detailed accounting of what was billed and why.
His work kept my family off of welfare. We weren't much above it but we made it. If I had collected welfare for my kids, it certainly would have been almost that PER MONTH! Yes, your tax dollars paid for my legal fees but it certainly saved thousands and thousands of dollars if I had not had legal representation.
The problem isn't Legal Aid in my mind.
It is very easy to simply blame the client.
I am so sick of hearing Legal Aid gives you wings. No it didn't. The problem lies with the LA lawyers who cannot handle things as quickly and professionally as mine did. It is the lawyers who try to suck the system and their clients dry that are the problem, not the ones who are working quickly and efficiently. My lawyer only dealt with the relevant issues and wasn't shy to tell me when things didn't matter. Of course high conflict people might try to drag things out but that is what conferences and motions are for.
I firmly believe that if the legal aid lawyers handled cases just as mine did, there would be very little abuse of the system.
Legal aid didn't give me wings. It preserved the rights of myself and my children.
So, thank you.
Ex and I worked through all the issues and will be officially divorced in a few days.
My first lawyer I paid for myself. I went through $5,000 that was lent to me by a family member to send a few letters and prepare an application. That firm did alot of "hand holding" by telephone as they rang up the bill. I have to pay back that money to the relative. At the time I mistakenly thought that legal aid did not cover divorce/custody issues.
When I applied for legal aid, my financial situation was dire. I needed child support and was entitled to compensatory spousal support. I qualified for legal aid outright, no repayment plan, no violence issues.
In less than a year, my legal aid lawyer got the proper child support ordered and a reasonable/compromised amount of spousal. He went to a case conference and a settlement conference and worked our thorough and lengthy separation agreement.
Total cost to Legal Aid?? $1,717. Yes, for the whole thing.
I was given a detailed accounting of what was billed and why.
His work kept my family off of welfare. We weren't much above it but we made it. If I had collected welfare for my kids, it certainly would have been almost that PER MONTH! Yes, your tax dollars paid for my legal fees but it certainly saved thousands and thousands of dollars if I had not had legal representation.
The problem isn't Legal Aid in my mind.
It is very easy to simply blame the client.
I am so sick of hearing Legal Aid gives you wings. No it didn't. The problem lies with the LA lawyers who cannot handle things as quickly and professionally as mine did. It is the lawyers who try to suck the system and their clients dry that are the problem, not the ones who are working quickly and efficiently. My lawyer only dealt with the relevant issues and wasn't shy to tell me when things didn't matter. Of course high conflict people might try to drag things out but that is what conferences and motions are for.
I firmly believe that if the legal aid lawyers handled cases just as mine did, there would be very little abuse of the system.
Legal aid didn't give me wings. It preserved the rights of myself and my children.
So, thank you.
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