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I frequent receive calls and messages such as this one:

Good morning Eric,

I know there is no way for you to know, but how far will your $3,000 retainer take me? I am borrowing the money from my parents and received an email from them this morning a little frantic letting me know that after that there is nothing more they can do for me. I’m sorry to ask this, but if it’s only going to scratch the surface and this is all I have, maybe I should settle, even if on unfair terms.

Sincerely,

Jane Doe

Here is my response to this general question:

Jane:

To be frank, $3,000 usually won’t get you very far in a contested divorce action.  I bill at $200 per hour (my associate bills at $165 per hour, and my clerks are billed out at $75).  That means that you get 15 hours of my time for $3,000, 18 hours associate’s time, or 40 hours of clerk time (but clerks don’t do all the work on your entire case, so this figure is provided merely for illustrative purposes).  You simply cannot go from start to finish in a contested divorce action in 7 to 18 hours.  Most cases last for months, if not years sometimes.

I am sure you’d like me to give you an “estimate” of what you legal fees costs would be in a case like yours by the time its over.  Because I almost always bill by the hour, I cannot give you a solid estimate.  First, I cannot control what the opposing side does to make the case expensive; and 2) I cannot foresee what bends in the road there are that could result in the case being quickly disposed of or dragging on for months and months.

I cannot guarantee the outcome of your case.  I am prohibited from doing so by the rules of professional conduct that govern the practice of law.  But even if there were no such prohibition, nobody can predict the future. Moreover, I am not infallible.  Mistakes will occasionally be made despite my best efforts.

I am not a legal prostitute.  I will not do anything if enough money is offered to me.  If I am willing to take your case, it is because I think you have a good case or defense and that you should fight for several reasons.  I do not encourage clients or potential clients to fight battles they cannot or should not win.  If I think you can win your battle (even if not entirely, but at least to a point that you feel the fight was worthwhile) then your $3,000 was well-invested toward serving your interests.

So why hire me at all, if I cannot guarantee at least a minimal measure of success?  Because my track record shows I do excellent  work and please the overwhelming majority of my clients.  Just as you still see your doctor for help with a health problem even if he cannot always cure every problem, that’s why you hire an attorney sometimes–to make the best of a bad situation when you know you’re in over your head and can benefit from professional help.  If I can solve your problems and know that I can, and if you’re willing to pay the price for it, I will solve your problems.  Inherent in this opportunity, however, is risk.

I understand if you hesitate to spend $3,000—likely money you don’t have and will have to borrow when your finances are already stretched to the limit.  Whether you retain counsel or not is a mutually exclusive decision situation.  On the one hand, retain counsel to ensure you are protected and guided in your lawsuit (desired) and pay him a lot of money (undesired).  Or you save the money by not hiring a lawyer (desired), but proceed on your own in a field that’s foreign to you (undesired).

Consequently, if you understand what I have written here to you, then I respect whatever choice you make when it comes to whether you hire an attorney.

Sincerely,

Eric K. Johnson

Utah Family Law, LC

 

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