Free first consultation?

ThrowAwayRAOoops · 2021-06-14T22:54:23+00:00

My lawyer didn't charge for the first consultation. I paid my retainer and that will be used to cover the last bill so I've been billed going forward per her hourly rate. When we're done, I'll either get the retainer back or she'll take her final bill out of it and I'll either get the bill for what is left of what I owe her or I'll get the difference in what is left of the retainer.

Her retainer is normally $5k for a regular case but since I was just consulting with her through mediation she only charged me $2500. I expect to get it all or at least $2000 of it back if things keep going the way they are but I have paid her probably close to $8k not including the retainer for consulting through the process because of how just absolutely stupid my ex is.

pacinor · 2021-06-15T05:07:24+00:00

I'm hoping I won't need one. I was hearing the same in costs. But $350/hr and a $5000 retainer are WAY out of my league. I just filed the divorce papers I put together from a packet my county's family court puts together, had her served with copies of the filed petition and now I have 9 days left to get served her response. If I'm not served then the judge sets a date to tell me when the divorce will be finalized.

Edit: Grammar

Edit 2: If I am served and she's fighting me I'll have to get a loan against my pickup and get the lawyer. Fingers crossed.

No_more_BPD_2020 · 2021-06-15T08:16:32+00:00

I think my consultation was 20 minutes and free. Retainer was 1.5k. I got billed monthly, put a credit card on file.

The retainer lasted approximately 3 hours of legal work, which is to say it went the first month.

StartingOverAgain512 · 2021-06-15T12:21:18+00:00

Lawyers are like most things. You get what you pay for. Most of the better lawyers don't want to tie up a lot of time doing free consultations. I did find that many do a reduced rate consultation or are willing to give more than an hour for the cost of just one.

I found my lawyer through an Employee Assistance Program. The first consultation was free and I get 35% off her hourly, which comes out to about $180 an hour. This seemed like a pretty decent rate to naïve me, for a divorce that was going to be amicable.

I found that my lawyer really isn't a good lawyer, and I had lined up three paid consultations for the day after mediation in case it fell apart the way I was anticipating. Thankfully we came to an agreement after 14 hours. Now I am just paying $180 an hour for her to write up the decree, which is pretty damn inexpensive, so it worked out. My retainer was $2500 and I will be getting some of that back.

throwTHISaway0885 · 2021-06-19T08:43:53+00:00

Most will do first consultation free. Retainer generally is 3.5 to 5k. The retainer last for about 10-15 hours of work. That equates to about 3-4 months of initial work: nsmely:, getting details of your case (2 or 3 in person meeting), getting ready the documents for filing (about 5 discussions via email/phone), and a filing the papers in court. You will expect your retainer to be used up once the divorce papers are filed.

Title	Free first consultation?
Author	alcosexual
Upvotes	6
Comments	12
Date	June 14, 2021 10:45 PM UTC (5 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/Divorce_Men
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/Divorce_Men/comments/nzz6v3/free_first_consultation/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/Divorce_Men/free-first-consultation.816745 https://theredarchive.com/post/816745

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