How Hiring a Seemingly More Expensive Divorce Lawyer Can Actually Save You Money

A lawyer discussing contract

There is a popular saying: you get what you pay for. The idea, of course, is that the cheapest option isn’t always the best, especially when quality is important. Nowhere is that more true than in hiring a divorce lawyer. Hiring a seemingly more expensive and experienced divorce lawyer can actually save you money and hassle, and keep you and your family from heading back to court.

How Expensive Will Your Divorce Be?

Hiring a divorce lawyer can be daunting. During your initial consultation, you can anticipate that your potential attorney or law firm staff will provide you with an initial retainer amount. You should think of this as a down payment, not a total estimate. You may need to replenish your retainer as the case progresses, depending on how complicated your case is, and how it progresses over time.

That is why it is hard to say how expensive your divorce will be at the outset. There are things you can do to keep your attorney fees low, including hiring an experienced divorce attorney who knows how to develop your case efficiently, without wasting time and money.

How Do Attorneys Set Their Fees?

Experienced divorce lawyers consider many factors when setting their hourly rate and deciding on an initial retainer amount. These include:

  • The time and labor involved, which is often driven by the degree of conflict in the marriage, the number of children involved, and whether any of them have special needs
  • Whether the case involves unique or difficult questions
  • The skill needed to do the work properly
  • Whether they will have to turn away other work to take the case
  • Market rates for other divorce lawyers in the area
  • The size of the marital estate and possible property awards which increase the lawyer's exposure
  • Any pre-existing relationship with the client
  • Any limits placed on the work the lawyer will do
  • The divorce lawyer’s experience, reputation, and ability

Other types of lawyers can also consider alternative fee arrangements like flat fees or contingent fees (where the lawyer is paid out of the proceeds of the lawsuit). However, these fee structures aren’t well suited to family law, and contingent fees in divorce cases are illegal.

The Risks That Come with Hiring a Cheap Lawyer (or Doing it Yourself)

Since a divorce lawyer’s experience and skill are factors to be considered in setting fees, they can be seemingly more expensive than a generalist or newer attorney. But the truth is that hiring a cheap lawyer or doing it yourself (possibly with the help of AI) can often cost you more in the long run.

If you don’t work with an experienced divorce lawyer, you can easily miss essential steps, including discovery responses and preparing essential orders and documents. That could force you to come back to court to correct your mistakes. You could also face sanctions and attorney fees if you miss key deadlines.

Even hiring the wrong kind of lawyer can hurt your bottom line. Generalists and attorneys unfamiliar with family law can actually increase the cost of divorce because they approach divorce litigation like a traditional lawsuit rather than an equitable case that involves emotions and best interests as well as legal principles. Taking a highly adversarial approach to divorce drives up fees and makes it harder to reach a negotiated settlement.

How Hiring an Experienced Divorce Lawyer Can Save You Money

It may feel counter-intuitive, but hiring an experienced divorce lawyer with a higher hourly attorney fee can actually save you money. First, experience means that your attorney won’t need to spend hours researching common divorce issues. He or she will already have a bank of knowledge, and even sample briefs dealing with similar issues from earlier cases. This can speed up research and writing in your case, saving you money.

Next, working with an experienced divorce attorney makes it easier to predict how the Michigan family court will reach decisions in your case. If you listen to your divorce lawyer’s advice, you can avoid pursuing legal issues or requesting things from the court that it is not likely or even able to do.

Experienced family law firms also have processes built into the way they work that avoid waste and can keep attorney fees low. You might work with skilled paralegals and other team members on discovery issues or use technology to provide your lawyer information or get access to your files. There are many things that happen outside of court that law firms can do to work efficiently and avoid unnecessary attorney costs.

Finally, the more skilled your divorce attorney is, the better he or she will be at anticipating future issues and protecting your future interests. An experienced divorce lawyer can build in enforcement protections and additional provisions that will make it easier for you and your former spouse to resolve issues out of court if possible, or make it easier for the Court to enforce the terms of your judgment if needed.

Save Money by Working With an Experienced Divorce Lawyer

At NSSSB, we want you to make the most of your initial divorce consultation. Our experienced divorce lawyers know how to use your attorney fees efficiently to help you get a satisfactory divorce settlement. We invite you to ask us questions so you understand our team and our approach before you hire us to handle your divorce. Call 724-994-3000 or click here to schedule a consultation with an attorney. We will listen to the details of your situation, answer your questions, and help you decide if we are the right fit for your case.