The one thing almost everyone gets wrong
A retainer is not the price of your divorce.
Most people hear a retainer figure and mentally file it as the cost — the number they have to come up with, after which the case is paid for. That is not what it is, and the gap between those two ideas causes more unpleasant surprises than anything else in legal billing.
A retainer is a deposit. It sits in a trust account with your name on it. As work is done on your case, the fees for that work are billed against it. The deposit is not what the case costs. It is the balance you are required to maintain while the case is running. With each bill you receive, you will pay for the time and expenses incurred to date, replenishing the retainer to maintain that balance. When the representation is over, funds left over are refunded.
Think of a retainer as a deposit for the last month’s rent. You will be paying throughout the representation.
How it actually works, month to month
Work gets done. Time and expenses are recorded against your case in increments. You receive a statement showing what was done, by whom, and what it cost, and that amount is drawn from your deposit.
The money stays yours until it is earned. If the case ends with a balance remaining, that balance comes back to you.
And as the balance is drawn down, it is replenished, so that there is always a deposit in place while work continues.
Why we do not offer payment plans
This is the question we get most often, and the honest answer follows directly from everything above.
No, and the reason is worth understanding. The deposit, often called a retainer, is not the fee for your case. It is an initial deposit you are required to maintain throughout the case as fees are billed against it. Once that is clear, so is the problem with paying a deposit in installments: the legal fees would grow faster than the deposit securing them, and you would be behind from the start.
We would rather be open with you about what your situation is likely to cost, and make sure the resources are there, before you commit to a lawsuit you cannot afford to finish.
That last part is the real point. A case that runs out of money halfway through is worse than a case never filed — you have spent the money, changed nothing, and are now looking for a new lawyer mid-stream with a file that has to be learned all over again. There are two routes to the same destination in any divorce, and which one you take has more to do with how decisions get made than with what the case was ever going to cost.
Why the same case costs different amounts at different firms
Two reasons, and neither is the hourly rate on the front page.
The first is who does the work. At this firm the work is divided among people billing at different rates — the attorneys and our paralegal — so that routine tasks are not handled by the most expensive person available. A firm with one lawyer and no support has one rate for everything, whether the task is a hearing or a filing.
The second is how much machinery gets run. Some firms file temporary orders and run formal discovery in every case as a matter of course. Both are legitimate tools and both are sometimes necessary, but running them when they are not needed is where a case quietly doubles in cost.
We treat each case uniquely and do not proceed from the same script, because your situation is unique and deserves a unique approach. Based on your needs and interests, we craft a legal plan designed to advance your objectives within your financial constraints. We decide that case by case, and we will explain the decision.
What a case actually will cost
Ranges depend heavily on what is in dispute, and they are wide for good reason. We set out the real numbers for this market in a separate article on what a Texas divorce costs — along with examples of the early decisions that drive much of the difference.
What is actually in your control
- How much you use us for things that are not legal work. Venting is human and we do not begrudge it, but it is billed at a lawyer’s rate. A friend or a counselor is cheaper and often better at it.
- How organized your documents are when you hand them over. Lawsuits run on facts — relevant facts — and we will be collecting a lot of information from you throughout the representation. This is where you can work with us and help impact your fees.
- Choosing your battles. Some fights cost more than the thing being fought over.
- How you communicate with the other side. Messages written in anger become exhibits, and exhibits become hours.
- Things happen, mistakes are made, events transpire. We understand; you are human. But anything that has to be explained requires time, understanding and context from the opposing party, opposing counsel and the court. That costs money and time. The less there is to explain, the better.
If you are trying to work out whether you can afford this
Say so at the consultation. It is a normal question and not an awkward one, and it is far better asked at the start than discovered in month four. We will tell you honestly what your situation is likely to require, and if the answer is that now is not the time, you will hear that too.