Family Lawyer Question:

☛ What is your hourly billing rate?
☛ What is the associate's billing rate?
☛ If both you and the associate are working on my case at the same time, am I billed at your combined rates? (Some firms do that only if two attorneys are needed, such as at trial. Others do it routinely, and others only bill you at the higher attorney's rate.)
☛ Is your fee for trial different from your hourly rate? (Some attorneys charge a set fee for every day they are in court.)
☛ Do you charge a retainer, and how much is it?
☛ Will the billing arrangements be set out in writing? (Insist that they be.)
☛ What happens when the retainer is used up?
☛ Will you keep me informed each month as to how much of the retainer has been depleted?
☛ What happens if I get behind on the bills?
☛ Can you collect your fees from my spouse?
☛ How much am I billed for copies of all relevant documents? (If the fee is too high, you might want to make copies on your own.)
☛ What extra fees should I expect? (Your retainer will spell out your responsibility for “fees”—what the lawyer charges for his/her time versus “costs”—things like court filing fees, process server fees, excessive postage, messengers, stenographers, or similar out-of-pocket expenses.)
☛ Are those fees due in advance, and will I know in advance what they are?
☛ Am I billed for telephone calls?
☛ Do you have a minimum unit of time you bill me for? (Some lawyers will bill you for 5 or even 15 minutes when a call takes only 4 minutes.