The 13 Secrets for Reducing Legal Fees During Divorce

You want and deserve excellent legal representation, but you don’t want to be charged an “arm and a leg” for it.  Your expectations are reasonable. 

The Chicago, Illinois divorce and family law attorney of Sylvester Law Firm understands the anxiety associated with the costs of your Chicago divorce.  

Through his years of experience as a lawyer, Atty. Sylvester has identified concrete ways of reducing legal fees during divorce...............

There are 13 Secrets for Reducing Legal Fees During Divorce:  

        1.    Negotiate out-of-court with your spouse through your Chicago divorce lawyer.  Don’t feel like you have to fight over every little issue.  For example, don't spend $500 in attorney fees to fight over a $100 painting.

        2.    Enter into a written engagement and fee agreement with your Chicago divorce attorney.  The agreement should identify the Chicago divorce lawyer’s hourly rate and the increments of time that are billed (usually billed in 10, 15 or 20 minute increments).  (Click here to review a sample Divorce Lawyer Engagement and Fee Agreement.)  By having a written fee agreement covering the attorney's legal fee, you likely remove the possibility of a dispute.  Disputes can be time consuming and expensive.    

        3.    Hire a Chicago divorce attorney who is not afraid to publish his/her fees and costs on their web-site.  Why should you have to take the time to call attorneys to find out what they charge per hour?  

        4.    Be thorough in providing your Chicago divorce lawyer with information at the start of the representation.  The more thorough you are at the start of the representation, the less time your Chicago divorce attorney will have to spend tracking down important information.  (Click here for our Fact-Gathering Questionnaire for Divorce Proceedings.) 

        5.    Hold-off on calling or e-mailing your Chicago divorce lawyer with a question until you have more than one or two questions.  As you think of questions, write them down and later present them to your Chicago divorce attorney.  This creates efficiency, which saves you money. 

        6.    Consider entering into mediation at the very start of your Chicago divorce and Chicago child custody case.  By resolving disputes out of court, you save money.

        7.    Consider using the Collaborative Divorce process for your Chicago divorce case.    

        8.    Be timely in paying your Chicago divorce lawyer's legal bills.  The time your Chicago divorce attorney spends trying to get paid pursuant to the Representation Agreement is time billed to the client.

        9.    Hire a skilled north suburban Chicago divorce lawyer who is a sole practitioner, and who does not have to support a large office staff and expensive "overhead."  

        10.  Hire an Illinois divorce attorney in north suburban Chicago who does not have to pay high "downtown" Chicago office rents.

        11.  Hire a suburban Chicago divorce lawyer who is closer to your home or office, and who can offer FREE parking. 

        12.  Hire a Chicago divorce and family law attorney who is willing to meet you after your working hours and/or on weekends so that you don’t have to take time off of work. 

        13.  Be very clear about your goals and expectations at the start of your case, and share them with your Chicago divorce lawyer.  Clear goals create focus and efficiency, which saves you money.

While your effort to keep legal costs to a minimum is reasonable, be careful in how far you take your efforts.  For instance, calling around to several Chicago divorce lawyers to find out how much each charges by the hour, and then hiring the Chicago divorce lawyer who has the lowest hourly rate, is VERY UNWISE...............

That’s because a Chicago divorce lawyer who charges the lowest hourly rate may be the most inefficient and/or inexperienced, which may lead to more hours billed - resulting in higher legal fees. 

Also, don't forget that you usually "get what you pay for" when fees are very low compared to the norm. 

The north suburban Chicago divorce and family law attorney of Sylvester Law Firm charges $250 per hour for Chicago divorce and Chicago child custody legal services.  

Atty. Patrick Sylvester's time is billed in 10 minute increments.  You will be provided with a detailed statement that indicates the time each task took on your Chicago divorce and/or Chicago child custody case. 

There is a required retainer fee.  The amount depends on the circumstances of your divorce and/or child custody case.  The retainer fee typically varies between $3,500 - $10,000.   

Services performed on your behalf are billed monthly.  Unless agreed otherwise, the retainer fee is later applied to your final bill and/or any bill that is late in getting paid.  Any unused portion of the retainer fee is returned to you without unnecessary delay after the case is finished.

Sylvester Law Firm does accept major credit cards.  A credit card in your sole name can be used to pay the monthly service bills (but not the retainer fee)...............