if you hired a family lawyer does this cost structure sound OK?

[dancarlo]

I am filing for custody of my daughter next week as mom has been erratic and it has been uphill battle to see my daughter with her. It leaves me no choice but to file for child custody order. One of the several lawyers I talked to seem very nice and approachable and charges about slightly less than 200$ and requires deposit of around 2000$ into client-attorney trust account. Is it accepted practice? It is bit hard to put lump sum not knowing how good quality service I will be getting.

 

[Taxing Matters]

In what state is the custody battle taking place? The rules that govern attorneys and the standard practices of attorneys vary a little bit from state to state.

In the typical hourly fee agreement, the lawyer will charge a certain amount per hour, say $200/hour, for the attorney's time and will also bill the client for direct expenses incurred in the case, like a court filing fee, service fees, copy charges, etc. The attorney will also have the client pay a retainer amount at the start of the representation, e.g. $2,000. That amount goes into the client trust account. Then when the attorney spends time on the case or incurs expenses, funds are taken out of the trust account to pay for that and the client is billed for the time and expenses, with that money then replenishing the trust account. The idea is that the retainer in the trust account is a sort of guarantee that the attorney will still be able to cover costs as the representation goes on. That $2,000 is not an extra fee. It's a just a fund used to keep things current. At the end of the representation any funds still left after all fees and expenses have been accounted for is returned to the client. Your agreement sounds like it is likely this kind of arrangement, which is very common. But of course I have not read the agreement so I cannot say for sure how it is meant to operate and if there is anything in it that might be a problem. So read the proposed fee agreement carefully and have the attorney answer any questions you have before you sign so you know exactly how this will work and what you are going to be paying.

 

[stealth2]

In addition to what TM posted, be aware that there is never a guarantee of the outcome you desire - you could hire the F Lee Bailey of family law and not prevail if your case doesn't have the meat it should. Any lawyer who guarantees you "victory" should be eyed with suspicion. And... do not consider that $2000 to be the sum total of your legal expenses - could be less, or could be much, much more. It all depends on the facts, the proof you have and how hard Mom fights.

 

[LdiJ]

In addition to what TM posted, be aware that there is never a guarantee of the outcome you desire - you could hire the F Lee Bailey of family law and not prevail if your case doesn't have the meat it should. Any lawyer who guarantees you "victory" should be eyed with suspicion. And... do not consider that $2000 to be the sum total of your legal expenses - could be less, or could be much, much more. It all depends on the facts, the proof you have and how hard Mom fights.

If dad is not filing for primary custody, but rather some form of joint/shared custody then it would be less problematic for an attorney to guarantee an outcome. Unless dad has a nefarious past that makes him dangerous to the child, its pretty much a guarantee that he will get some time with the child.

 

[stealth2]

If dad is not filing for primary custody, but rather some form of joint/shared custody then it would be less problematic for an attorney to guarantee an outcome. Unless dad has a nefarious past that makes him dangerous to the child, its pretty much a guarantee that he will get some time with the child.

There really isn't enough info to say either way.

 

[HighwayMan]

In my experience (and I live with a family law attorney) the attorney will often ask for a retainer based upon what they expect the total cost of the representation to be. An attorney is not there to provide services for free and does not want to have to chase down clients for payment every week, thus they often ask for the retainer up front.

Many times a case will conclude with less time than expected spent by the attorney which would mean you'd get a refund of whatever is left in the retainer account. Of course, there are also many times when a case becomes more involved than expected and you have to replenish the retainer.

You need to read the retainer agreement that you were given to sign for the details. It's important that you understand the details of the agreement since they can vary.

If the case moves along and you are not happy with your attorney you may "fire" him or her and retain another - any money left in the trust account would be given back to you.

 

[LdiJ]

There really isn't enough info to say either way.

I know, that is why I thought that the OP should be aware that there are some situations where an attorney guarantee or almost guarantee would be appropriate.

 

[stealth2]

If the case moves along and you are not happy with your attorney you may "fire" him or her and retain another - any money left in the trust account would be given back to you.

And, if that happens, make sure to read carefully how the money spent was billed. I fired an attorney, and when I went through the accounting, found that he had billed me his rate for work accounted to his paralegal (which was stated as significantly less in the retainer agreement).

 

[HighwayMan]

...charges about slightly less than 200$...

You didn't post your state (as you were asked to do) but compared to the areas I am familiar with, that hourly rate is incredibly cheap.

 

[adjusterjack]

I am filing for custody of my daughter next week as mom has been erratic and it has been uphill battle to see my daughter with her. It leaves me no choice but to file for child custody order. One of the several lawyers I talked to seem very nice and approachable and charges about slightly less than 200$ and requires deposit of around 2000$ into client-attorney trust account. Is it accepted practice? It is bit hard to put lump sum not knowing how good quality service I will be getting.

It's a bargain. I would have expected $250 to $350 per hour and a retainer twice that.

Keep in mind that a $2000 retainer covers 10 hours work and that gets used up pretty quick. Also limit phone calls and emails because you'll probably be billed in 15 minute increments even if the call lasted a minute.

 

[stealth2]

Also limit phone calls and emails because you'll probably be billed in 15 minute increments even if the call lasted a minute.

Tip on this... Write down all of your questions and wait to call/email until you have several (ETA unless it is truly emergent). Keep them to the point and don't ramble. Remember that your lawyer is not the one to complain, cry or whine to.

 

[Taxing Matters]

In my experience (and I live with a family law attorney) the attorney will often ask for a retainer based upon what they expect the total cost of the representation to be. An attorney is not there to provide services for free and does not want to have to chase down clients for payment every week, thus they often ask for the retainer up front.

An attorney might do that if the expected amount of the total representation amounts to just a few thousand dollars. But when I take a case that I expect will take several years to litigate and the total cost may be $50,000, for example, I don't ask for a $50,000 retainer. That's unrealistic to get in most cases. Instead, I ask for a retainer that will generally cover what I expect might be the costs over, say a few months to ensure that I have enough to cover what comes up between each bill I send the client and have the funds to get paid if I have to withdraw due to nonpayment by the client. That retainer might be $3,000-$4,000. The client then keeps that retainer current by paying each bill that I send.

 

[Taxing Matters]

It's a bargain. I would have expected $250 to $350 per hour and a retainer twice that.

Keep in mind that a $2000 retainer covers 10 hours work and that gets used up pretty quick. Also limit phone calls and emails because you'll probably be billed in 15 minute increments even if the call lasted a minute.

It is more common today for lawyers who do hourly fee agreements to bill in tenths of an hour; i.e. 6 min increments. That's what I do, and time billing software makes that very easy to do. So a call that lasts just a couple minutes gets billed at a tenth of an hour, not for a quarter hour.

 

[dancarlo]

Ok thanks very informational.

 

[dancarlo]

In what state is the custody battle taking place? The rules that govern attorneys and the standard practices of attorneys vary a little bit from state to state.

In the typical hourly fee agreement, the lawyer will charge a certain amount per hour, say $200/hour, for the attorney's time and will also bill the client for direct expenses incurred in the case, like a court filing fee, service fees, copy charges, etc. The attorney will also have the client pay a retainer amount at the start of the representation, e.g. $2,000. That amount goes into the client trust account. Then when the attorney spends time on the case or incurs expenses, funds are taken out of the trust account to pay for that and the client is billed for the time and expenses, with that money then replenishing the trust account. The idea is that the retainer in the trust account is a sort of guarantee that the attorney will still be able to cover costs as the representation goes on. That $2,000 is not an extra fee. It's a just a fund used to keep things current. At the end of the representation any funds still left after all fees and expenses have been accounted for is returned to the client. Your agreement sounds like it is likely this kind of arrangement, which is very common. But of course I have not read the agreement so I cannot say for sure how it is meant to operate and if there is anything in it that might be a problem. So read the proposed fee agreement carefully and have the attorney answer any questions you have before you sign so you know exactly how this will work and what you are going to be paying.

it is taking place in California bay area where cost of living is one of the highest in the nation.