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5. Keep a record of the time you spend with your attorney, on the phone and in person. When you get your bill, check it against your personal records. |
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We know of one instance in which two attorneys representing opposing sides in a divorce case met to reach a settlement. After the meeting, they went out to dinner together. One of the lawyers had the audacity to charge his client for the time spent at dinner, and for the dinner itself! Needless to say, the outraged client agreed to pay only for the time spent on his case. Then he changed attorneys. |
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6. Before you sign the retainer agreement, ask whether you will be charged a minimum for phone calls and what that charge will be. Some lawyers charge a 15-minute minimum under the theory that your call has taken them away from other work, and they need time to get back into it. Others will charge a minimum of five minutes. Still others will only charge the actual time spent on the phone. If there is a 15-minute minimum, save your questions for one longer call rather than several short calls. |
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7. If you've gone to a firm with many attorneys, ask whether a good attorney with a lower billing rate will be able to do some of the work on your case. However, make it clear that for certain worknegotiations, for instance, or the actual trialyou want the attorney you hired. |
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8. If more than one attorney will be working on your case, find out, before you sign the retainer, how double services will be billed. If two attorneys are discussing your case, are you going to be billed at their total hourly rate, or only at the higher attorney's rate? |
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9. Find out what you will be billed for photocopying and photocopy whatever you can yourself. Some firms charge as much as 25¢ a page. Time permitting, you could get copying done yourself for 4¢ per page overnight. |
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10. Ask your attorney to use faxes or express or overnight mail only when necessary. |
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11. Organize materials your attorney wants in the way she needs them to be organized. For example, if your attorney sends you a list of 20 documents demanded by your spouse's counsel, organize the records, by year and category, in separate folders. Your lawyer might want to change what you've done a little, but the cost will be far less than it would have been had you brought in a shopping bag full of receipts. |
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12. Don't engage your attorney in aimless phone calls. For example, don't start bad-mouthing your spouse, your spouse's attorney, the system, or the judge. And do not make small talk or discuss anything irrelevant to your case. You may feel better after the call; you won't when you get your bill. |
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