HIRING COUNSEL IS A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT. IT’S IMPORTANT THAT YOUR QUESTIONS REGARDING COSTS ARE ANSWERED AT THE OUTSET.
Our office fee structure is as follows:
Hourly Rate
Attorney time is billed at $500.00 hourly for Phil Marr and $400.00 hourly for Karen Slowik. Our office does not “double-bill,” meaning that if an associate assists Mr. Marr (for example, at trial or in a deposition), the associate’s time on those shared appearances is provided to the client without charge. We bill our time in increments of one-tenth of one hour.
Consultation Rate
The initial hour of consultation is $250.00, paid in advance. Should more time be helpful to you in discussing your case, our standard hourly rates will apply thereafter.
Paralegals
Certain tasks are supported by qualified paralegals to efficiently manage attorney-time and client-funds. We invite only experienced and capable individuals to our team, and all projects are overseen, reviewed, signed, and submitted by the attorney. Paralegal time at $200.00 per hour.
Retainer
When a party hires our office, we confirm that attorney-client relationship by signing a contract called a “Retainer Agreement,” which describes our commitments to each other as attorney and client. At the time of signing, the client provides a “Retainer,” a sum of money deposited into the client’s individual “Client Trust Account” with our bank.
Minimum retainers for a divorce without children begin at $3,500.00. Where the Parties have minor children, a higher retainer is necessary. The reason for the higher retainer is that cases involving children tend to require significantly more time due to the additional procedures and emotional complexities of child custody and visitation disputes. Cases involving child custody require initial retainers of $6,500.00 to $10,000.00 depending on circumstances.
Bills are sent monthly. Entries show the amount of time required by the client’s case in any given day with a description of the work performed. At the time of billing, each client’s trust account is debited the invoice amount. Clients are responsible to maintain a minimum balance in their trust account during representation. That amount is defined in the Retainer Agreement. If a client’s bill during any month exceeds the amount held in their trust, they remain responsible for that overage. At the conclusion of each client’s representation, we return to them any amount remaining in their trust account.
HOURLY RATE
-Calculated in increments of 1/10 of an hour while your lawyer is working on your case.
-Billed time includes that spent on phone calls, letters, motion drafting, court appearances, and other efforts necessary for appropriate handling of each case.
-Monthly bills are debited against client retainer accounts.
CONSULTATIONS
- The first hour in consultation is discounted due to its nature as a mutual interview.
- Bring any filed pleadings so that we can understand the procedural status of their cases.
- Also bring any documents you specifically want to discuss, such as tax returns, pre-nuptial/post-nuptial agreements, correspondence, and financial records.
PARALEGALS
-Assist where attorney-time on specific tasks would be disproportionate to the value and difficulty of those tasks.
-Counsel is responsible for full review, necessary revisions, and finalization of each item.
-Support delegated tasks in discovery and non-urgent client communications.