Providing the Best Information and Support
We understand that clients are normally reaching out to a family law lawyer during a challenging time in their lives. There are many emotions our clients may be dealing with, including fear, anger, sadness or grief, resentment toward their partner, and even trauma. If a client is new to the family law process, there can also be a lot of stress and confusion, and if the client has been through the process before, the client may be disenchanted or frustrated.
Your family law lawyer should do their best to, not only, guide you through the legal process, but to support you during this challenging time in your life.
At Bair Family Law, we strive to provide our clients with information and support, to assist them in making their very best family law decisions. With this goal in mind, let’s consider three common misconceptions about the initial stages of the family law process that we often encounter with new clients.
Misconception #1 – The Initial Consultation: A family law lawyer will be able to provide comprehensive advice at the initial consultation and the advice provided will be the expected outcome of my case.
Reality: The consultation can provide some specific information related to your case but is, overall, a more general introduction to the family law process. The information provided in a consultation is based upon the information available to the family law lawyer at this early stage, and the legal advice can change as more information becomes available throughout the legal process.
A consultation is an initial meeting where a family law lawyer will obtain information about your case and provide basic information about the legal process and expectations.These meetings normally range between 30 minutes to 1 hour, and usually start with the family law lawyer’s request for background information. Once this basic information is gathered, you will have an opportunity to provide the family law lawyer with information about your specific case, your concerns and what you are seeking to achieve. Although the family law lawyer may be able to provide general advice based upon the information you provide, there is usually additional information that is discovered through the family law journey – provided both by you and your partner – that will enable your family law lawyer to provide tailored legal advice for your specific case.
Bonus Tip: You should also use the initial consultation to determine whether the family law lawyer you are speaking with is the right fit for you.
Misconception #2 – Initial Retainer: The initial retainer I pay to my family law lawyer will cover the entire cost of my family law matter.
Reality: Generally, your family law lawyer will not seek an initial retainer that is expected to cover the full value of the work anticipated to be performed on your file. Rather, they will request a retainer necessary to cover the first reasoned steps in your case. Your family law lawyer will address the need for an additional retainer, or retainers, as your file unfolds and the steps necessary to complete work on your file are identified. This will allow you to deliver funds in considered and manageable amounts that are tailored to the expected costs of your ongoing family law matter.
Let us start with a brief background on what a retainer actually is and how a client gets billed. A retainer is a deposit for a set number of hours of work performed by your family law lawyer. Most family law lawyers bill in 6-minute increments. Chart #1, below, provides a basic visual for billing time increments.
Chart #1: Lawyer’s Billing Increments
| Time Spent Working on File | Billing Increment | Amount Billed |
| 1 – 6 minutes | 0.1 | Lawyer’s Hourly Rate x 0.1 |
| 7 – 12 minutes | 0.2 | Lawyer’s Hourly Rate x 0.2 |
| 13 – 18 minutes | 0.3 | Lawyer’s Hourly Rate x 0.3 |
| 19 – 24 minutes | 0.4 | Lawyer’s Hourly Rate x 0.4 |
| 25 – 30 minutes | 0.5 | Lawyer’s Hourly Rate x 0.5 |
| 31 – 36 minutes | 0.6 | Lawyer’s Hourly Rate x 0.6 |
| 37 – 42 minutes | 0.7 | Lawyer’s Hourly Rate x 0.7 |
| 43 – 48 minutes | 0.8 | Lawyer’s Hourly Rate x 0.8 |
| 49 – 54 minutes | 0.9 | Lawyer’s Hourly Rate x 0.9 |
| 55 – 60 minutes | 1.0 | Lawyer’s Hourly Rate x 1.0 |
Utilizing chart #1 above, if a family law lawyer prepares a document for a client and spends 25 minutes on the task, the family law lawyer will enter 0.5 for the work performed into a legal docket. If your family law lawyer charges $300.00 per hour this task will cost $150.00 + HST.
Bair Family Law Cost Savings – At Bair Family Law, we bill at half increments beyond 0.1. Using the example above, 25 minutes would be 0.45 instead of 0.5. That means your cost would be $135.00 + HST. The difference may seem small, but it can add up to significant savings over the course of your file.
There are numerous contributing factors that can result in a client’s bill increasing beyond the original retainer. Four of the most common are:
- the case is more complex than anticipated, which can be due to additional issues being raised through the course of a family law matter;
- the client and/or opposing party is prolonging negotiations or delaying steps in the process, which can result in needless revisions of documents, communications, meetings, or Court attendances;
- the client is sending multiple or duplicated communications to their family law lawyer, rather than one detailed email; and/or
- the lawyer has to follow up multiple times with the client in order to proceed.
The lawyers at Bair Family Law do the best that we can to conserve our clients’ costs but, as addressed above, costs can occur due to factors beyond our control. If costs are anticipated to increase, we seek to give our clients early notice and reasoned estimates as to increased cost. Estimates provided by your family law lawyer are their best effort to predict future costs, based on the information available to the lawyer and past similar experiences. Your family law lawyer can never guarantee future costs. It is important to read and understand the terms in your Letter of Instruction, which every client receives when retaining a skilled family law lawyer.
Bonus Tip: If you have a limited budget, you should discuss this with your family law lawyer during the consultation so different cost saving options can be provided, such as Limited Scope Retainers, and Coaching Retainers. Not all firms offer such options, so visit Bair Family Law’s website to see the different available options and request a consultation.
Misconception #3 – Your Role as a Client: Once a client retains a family law lawyer, the client no longer has to do anything and the lawyer will make all the decisions.
Reality: The family law process is a collaborative one between you and your family law lawyer. Your lawyer is not able to enter into agreements or provide negotiation terms to the opposing party without your instructions and approval.
Your family law lawyer’s job is to provide you with information about potential outcomes of your family law matter, your legal entitlements and obligations, and suggested options on how to proceed. Your lawyer guides you in obtaining a resolution, but ultimately it is up to you to determine your desired result and to perform a cost-benefit analysis for each option.
If you are retaining a family law lawyer with the perception that this process will be hands-off and that the lawyer will just do everything, you will be disappointed. Your family law lawyer requires ongoing information and instructions to keep your matter moving forward because, at the end of the day, no one knows your family law case better than you do.
Bonus Tip: Communicating your desired results and providing your lawyer with the full truth, including the good, bad, and the ugly is important to ensure that no one is taken by surprise and to ensure that your case continues to progress without any major setbacks.
If you are in need of a family law lawyer who can help you take the mystery out of the family law process, please contact us at Bair Family Law to book your initial consultation. We would be happy to provide assistance and support to you with your family law matter.
Zahra T. Razvi
Associate Lawyer
Zahra Razvi, a family lawyer at Bair Family Law, is the settlement whisperer. She has the reputation of settling a greater percentage of her cases outside Court than any other lawyer within the firm, by utilizing her strong negotiation and dispute resolution skills. Clients value settlement, either outside of Court or within Court, because settlements generally lead to win-win results, save money, protect the participants’ wellness and lead to higher levels of gratification. Having worked in the medical realm, Zahra brings a multidisciplinary approach to the law that elevates her insight and human understanding, leading to more strategically successful family law evaluations, negotiation, and litigation. Whatever your needs, or the dispute resolution process that you wish to advance, Zahra has the unique tools to reduce conflict and achieve empowering solutions. Read More…
The information contained in this blog is provided solely for general interest; may not reflect current legal developments and should not be relied upon or construed as legal advice. Online readers should not act upon any information in this blog without first seeking professional advice. The sending or receipt of this information does not create a solicitor-client relationship between the reader and the content creator. For specific, comprehensive and up-to-date information, or for help with a particular factual situation, you should seek the advice of a family law lawyer.