"How can I help keep my legal bills under control?"

There are several different fees charged by attorneys.  Each attorney has their own method of charging their clients.  Make sure you ask how and for what you are being charged before signing on the dotted line.  For example, some attorneys charge for the first consultation while others offer free first-time consultations.  Also, you need to ask upfront how much time is allowed for any free consultations, as time can range from 15 minutes to no time limit. You will be charged for any time that you use after the free consultation time is used.

Additionally, attorneys charge for copies, faxes, postage, and travel expenses.  Know that the attorney has to keep their offices running and the only way they pay the bills is to charge the expenses on each client’s case back to that client.  Make sure you know what you will be charged for things such as copies, faxes, mileage, etc. 

The following are some additional pointers for keeping your attorney fees down:

1. Use attorneys that have not been licensed very long.  Generally, they charge less and are very well versed in the law; 

2. Do most of the leg work for the attorney.  This means that you obtain documents that can be used in the divorce, such as bank balances, credit card balances, amounts in retirement plans, and inventory of assets, witness contact information;

3. Make copies for your attorney.  If you want to keep the original documents, make copies for the attorney, instead of having the attorney make those copies; and

4. Keep track of e-mail communications.  Remember you are being charged in increments of hours in most cases.  If an attorney charges in 6 minute increments at $150.00/hour you are being charged a minimum of $15.00 for each e-mail.  Make sure your e-mails justify the amount you will pay for the attorney to read and respond.  Remember however, that you are not being charged for the time it takes you to compose the e-mail only the time required to read and respond to your e-mail, so this style of communication is far cheaper than phone calls.

5. Phone calls are the biggest charge in most cases.  As with e-mails you are being charged in increments of hours not in the actual amount of time spent.  Most clients are not aware of how much time they are spending on the phone with the attorney.  An item that may only take a minute or two to read in an e-mail may take 10 minutes to explain over the phone.  So be aware of how much time you spend on the phone with your attorney’s office.

There are other charges that may be assessed by attorney.  Be sure that you understand how you are being billed and for what you are being billed before you sign the employment contract.  Do not be afraid to ask if you can take the contract home to read; most attorneys will agree to that request.  If an attorney does not agree to allow you time to review the contract, you may want to seriously consider not hiring that attorney.

Duana Loechel is the principal and founder of Loechel & Associates in Houston. She practices in Harris, Brazoria, and Galveston counties, providing divorce services as well as family-law mediation, real estate, tax planning, wills, and estates.