If you are new to needing a lawyer or hiring a lawyer, you may not realize how much money having a lawyer can cost you. Lawyers are expensive. The average hourly rate of a lawyer is between $350.00 to $500.00 per hour, with an upfront retainer deposit required in the range of $1,500.00 to $10,000.00 depending on the complexity of your legal matter. If you are new to hiring a lawyer, you may not realize how much time it may take your lawyer to complete the tasks that you have hired them to do. You may be surprised when you get your first bill. However, there are steps you can take from the start if you want lower legal fees.
Read the Retainer Agreement
Your lawyer will give you a “Retainer Agreement” to sign when you agree to hire them for your legal matter. The Retainer Agreement is a contract that outlines their billing practices, so it is extremely important to read it. If you do not fully understand what you are agreeing to pay, you must ask for clarification before signing it or you may receive a surprisingly high legal bill. For example, some lawyers may charge you for each and every email you send them, but others may only charge you for emails if those emails were used to carryout work on your file. If you understand how your lawyer plans to bill you for their time, you can take steps to achieve lower legal fees without first being completely shocked when you receive your lawyers next Statement of Account.
Avoid sending multiple emails
You can usually lower your legal fees by sending less emails. Emails are a big expense if your lawyer charges you for each and every email that is sent or received. If your lawyer plans to charge you per email, it is helpful to know that in advance because it gives you the power to consolidate your emails. It can be cheaper for you to send less emails with chunks of information and instead send a single email with all of the information in one shot. For example, if your lawyer requests a list of documents, it can cost you more to send an email or two as the items become available to you, instead of holding on to them until you have collected everything on the list then sending it all at once.
Respond within a timely fashion
Do not ignore your lawyer if you want lower legal fees. If you are stressed out or extremely busy, it can be tempting to ignore your lawyer until a more convenient time for you. This mistake can cost you money. Each time that your lawyer has to call you or email to follow-up you may be charged. If your lawyer is contacting you for your instructions, your lawyer is not able to proceed with your file until they hear from you. If you do not provide your response quick enough, your lawyer may quit being your lawyer because of “lack of response from client.” There may also be costs incurred by your lawyer to formally withdrawal as your lawyer of record with the court.
Provide your lawyer with sufficient materials
If your lawyer asks you for information, provide as many details as you can in one shot if you want lower legal fees. If your lawyer needs to keep coming back to you for more information, you may be charged for each phone call or email to you to ask for it. If you provide your lawyer with a lot of information and supporting evidence, it gives your lawyer the power to pick and choose what they can use, then the rest can be stored in your file for future reference.
Work with a paralegal
If your lawyer has their own legal assistant or paralegal, this person is a great resource for you to use to help keep your legal fees down. Many times, if your lawyer has requested something from you, their paralegal can answer questions from you regarding how to collect those items or if the items you have provided are sufficient. The hourly rate for a paralegal is usually significantly cheaper than the hourly rate of your lawyer. It can be extremely beneficial to you to work with their legal assistant or paralegal as much as you possibly can if you want lower legal fees.
Do the leg work on your file
Your lawyer is likely charging you for their time, their paralegals time and for any costs that have had to be paid to work on your file such as postage, filing fees, court fees and/or couriers. There may be many opportunities for you to reduce your legal fees during the course of your file by taking on a more active role in your file. For example, it is possible to reduce the costs payable for disbursements if you indicate that you will have someone hand-deliver court documents or letters instead of hiring process servers or couriers. If a document needs to be drafted such as an Affidavit, you may be able to achieve lower legal fees by preparing the first draft yourself instead of having your lawyer draft the document from scratch. If you are interested in exploring your options for lower legal fees, we encourage you to discuss it with your lawyer so that they know that you are looking to do as much work as possible with the goal of having lower legal fees.
Pick your battles wisely
The best advice that we can give you for lower legal fees is to pick your battles wisely. You can significantly reduce your legal fees by finding an alternative person to vent to when minor parenting or other issues arise. Your lawyer and their staff do not provide counselling services, and they are only able to help with legal issues. In many cases, it is cheaper and less stressful to purchase your child clothing that fits or to provide your child with additional snacks instead of paying your lawyer hundreds of dollars to write a letter or to file a court application because your co-parent has failed to adequately provide those items for your child. Immediate child safety concerns should always be addressed with Child and Family Services (“CFS”) because they can usually act quicker (and cheaper) than court procedures, and the Courts will likely want to know if CFS investigated your concerns.
Be patient
Lawyers work on their files on a priority basis. If your file has an upcoming court date or deadline, or if you have an emergency, your matter will be prioritized by your lawyer. If your situation is not time sensitive, you may have to wait a little while to hear back from your lawyer. It can be tempting to call your lawyer for an update. We encourage you to be cautious and avoid reaching out to your lawyer too often for an update within a short timeframe if you want lower legal fees because you might be charged for each call or email even if no new information is available. You can save money by being patient because your lawyer will reach out to you when they have new information for you or when they need instructions from you.
What should you take from this?
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your lawyers billing practices, or if you want more information on how to achieve lower legal fees while working with them, you should speak to your lawyer about it as soon as possible. Your lawyer should be willing to discuss their billing practices and the fairness of your past, current or future legal costs. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of that conversation with your lawyer, you can also bring your concerns to the Review & Assessment Office on the 2nd Floor, South Tower in the Edmonton Law Courts. The Review Officers may be able to intervene if they find you have been billed unreasonably. If you would like a referral to another lawyer with different billing practices, contact the Edmonton Family Network to discuss your options.
