Dr. Judith Gerhart, CFP
Certified Divorce Financial Analyst 
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Understand How a Lawyer’s Bill Is Calculated
August 8, 2008
If the hourly rate is $200 then for every message you leave or brief conversation you have you will be billed at least $20. Each time you are tempted to callyour lawyer and ask how things are progressing, take out a $20 bill and say goodbye to it - you might reconsider. A better idea is to arrange at the beginning to have copies of all letters written or received by your lawyer forwarded to you. You will still be billed for these copies but they will let you keep tabs on what is happening with your file without incurring any more fees than necessary.
If possible you might try to arrange to pay a flat fee for some or all of your lawyer’s services rather than paying by the hour. Most won’t agree but if your lawyer will it will relieve both of you from the concern over billing and let you place all your attention on getting results. This is also an excellent motivator for your lawyer to get the whole case finished as quickly as easily as possible.
By Howard MacKinnon
Posted by Judith Gerhart on August 8, 2008 | Permalink | Post a comment
Topics: Divorce, Finance, Tips |
