Family Law

This week I have been posting regarding my opinion as to the benefits of attorneys charging a flat fee instead of billing by the hour in contested divorce cases.  Today I would like to share what South Carolina family law attorney Ben Stevens has to say about the issue:   

The American Bar Association released a report just over five years ago that was very critical of the ?standard? way that many (if not most) attorneys charge their clients for their services.  Its conclusion was that ?[t]he billable hour is fundamentally about quantity over quality, repetition over creativity.?  To me, that doesn't sound like it contributes at all to what should be the attorney's ultimate goal -- providing clients with the best possible service.

Approximately two years ago, I began handling all family law cases on a fixed fee basis instead of charging by the hour as I had done for many years.  When a client hires an attorney on an hourly basis, that client is basically writing the attorney a blank check and crossing his/her fingers hoping that the total fees are what he/she anticipated.  I know that if I was the client, I would definitely prefer the certainty of knowing the total cost instead of hoping for the best.

Specifically, I believe that clients receive the following benefits from hiring attorneys for a fixed fee:

• Clients know the total cost up front, which enables them to determine prior to retaining the attorney whether or not they can afford his/her services and to budget for the attorney's fees and costs. 
     
• Clients have another basis upon which to compare attorneys, both in the manner they charge for their services (fixed fee vs. hourly) as well as the amount charged ($X vs. $Y).
     
• Clients never end up in fee disputes with their attorneys, because all fees were negotiated and agreed upon before the representation began.
• This method encourages open communication from the client to the attorney.  In hourly billing situations, clients sometimes hesitate to provide information to the attorney because they know that they will incur fees and costs for doing so.
• Clients have a higher level of trust with their lawyers, which results in a better working relationship, which frequently yields better outcomes in the clients' cases.

Source: South Carolina Family Law Blog.