How to save money when hiring an attorney !
How to save money when hiring an attorney!
You can save a lot of money on attorney fees by hiring an attorney that is located close to the courthouse where your case will be heard. After all most attorneys will charge you for all time they work on your case and many even charge you for the time they spend driving to and from the courthouse. Earlier this week I had a hearing on a case that was set in the Hemet Courthouse, Both parties to the case live in Hemet California. The opposing party was represented by an attorney from Los Angeles. Assuming the attorney is charging their client $400.00 per hour it will cost the client at least $1,600.00 every time their attorney drives to Hemet from Los Angeles and back for a court hearing (2 hours driving each way). This does not even include the time actually spent in court at the hearing, or preparing for the hearing. Of course the most important consideration in deciding which attorney to hire is their honesty, experience, skill level and whether or not you really feel comfortable working with them to get the best result possible for you. Cost is also important! So you can probably save yourself some money by hiring a competent attorney who has an office closer to the courthouse where your case will be heard because you will not be spending your money paying an attorney to sit on the freeway driving back and forth to the courthouse. The other thing to remember is that any attorney you hire works for you.. They are in essence your employee. So before making a decision on who to hire ask them about their specific billing practices. Do they charge you for every single photocopy? Postage Stamp? Fax sent or received? As a client you are entitled to know these things before you sign a retainer agreement. I guess if the attorney is not willing to discuss these billing practices with your or answer your questions that say something?? Bottom line is that as an attorney I work for my client. I am my client's employee. The goal is to get my client through the legal system as efficiently as possible, get the best result, and keep the cost
low.
If you have any questions of need some help with a legal matter please call me at (951)765-0331 for a free consultation.