Setting Fees as a New Family Law Attorney

Professional organizations for lawyers typically give you flexibility to decide what to charge your clients. Though setting your own rate may feel confusing or uncomfortable, it's an important part of establishing a financially sustainable law practice. You want to strike the right balance of charging what you're worth and being fair to your client.

Hourly rate (with retainer)

In most family cases, lawyers charge by the hour. What makes a rate "reasonable"? You can consider:

• What other lawyers charge for this kind of work in your area
• The complexities of this case
• Your qualifications to handle it (including your experience with similar cases or topics)
• The speed that you anticipate will be demanded from you in this case (e.g., to respond to phone calls, draft documents or prepare for court hearings)

To avoid issuing a separate bill for every phone call and to reassure yourself that your client can afford to pay, you could ask for a retainer. Alternatively, you could set up an installment plan.

Flat-fee divorces

Many family lawyers charge a flat fee, aka fixed fee, for uncontested divorces if they're sure they'll only need a few hours to draft or review a written agreement and file it in court. This is common in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia.

A client may have already paid their court's filing fee before they come to you. If they haven't, make sure they understand they'll have to cover that cost.

Let them know that if they start arguing with their ex about the details of the divorce, they're likely to rack up additional legal expenses and the flat fee will not insure them against this.

10 key points to communicate about your fees

For transparency, to build your relationship with your client, and to help ensure you get paid, put your fees in writing as soon as possible.

Explain to your client:

1. The meaning of any technical terms with which you describe your fees
2. Whether you offer unbundled services, that is, if you're willing to limit your participation to specific tasks they need right now
3. That mediation is a common way to reach a settlement and avoid the cost of a trial
4. Whether certain fees (e.g., to the court clerk, court reporter or sheriff) will appear as itemized charges on the bill you send them — If you'll handle these fees and expect reimbursement in addition to your normal rate, make it clear.
5. That you'll charge for any interaction, like phone calls, texts and emails, regardless of who initiates it
6. That you can't always predict exactly when you'll work on their case, as you may (for example) need to respond to direct communication from other legal professionals or from the court
7. That final costs may be significantly higher than any early estimate
8. If you may split your fee with a lawyer in another firm (In the U.S., you can do this in certain circumstances with the client's consent.)
9. That one spouse or parent may be ordered to pay the other's legal bills — Explain if one litigant can request this and if the other can argue against it.
10. Whether the retainer is refundable if you end up not working all of the hours they paid for (Professional rules on refunds vary locally.)

No contingent fees in family cases

You can't say you'll charge or forgo your fee dependent on the outcome of your client's case. You're not supposed to take a financial interest in rushing to finalize a divorce while giving your client a reason to never finalize it (namely, not having to pay you). Such financial motivations shouldn't drive a custody arrangement either.

Divorce and custody should be about preferences, circumstances and needs that may change during the case. An ideal outcome should reflect your client's requests and support the best interests of their child.

Another way of looking at this: Your client (by hiring you) is betting on winning their case, but you can't join them in this gamble. You can do it in certain types of lawsuits, but not in family cases. Your payment — however big or small your rate is — must be based on the divorce and custody-related work you do for them.

The American Bar Association has such a rule. It doesn't allow you to base your fees on whether your client's divorce is ultimately finalized, nor on how much spousal maintenance or child support (including if they're addressed via property settlement) is ultimately ordered. Your specific location may have a similar rule.

Many low-income people genuinely can't afford to pay a lawyer before they get a payout from a wealthier spouse. If this is a barrier, suggest other ways for your client to lower their legal costs. You can refer them to legal aid organizations.

Tell your clients how to make your work easier and lower their costs

If there are ways for a client to carry more of their own weight, and hence lower the total amount you'll charge, let them know.

For example, they may not realize that they can avoid an unnecessary legal battle by negotiating directly with their ex. One helpful step they can take is using a co-parenting app to draft their own parenting plan.

Custody X Change lets you and your client — separately or together — quickly and easily create parenting plans with visual schedules. A schedule automatically calculates parenting time.

If your client subscribes, they can log their parenting expenses and keep a parenting journal. If their co-parent subscribes too, they'll be able to message each other. And if you subscribe and link with your client's account, you can view, search and print all this material for court.

Custody X Change makes your work easier.