"Let's be honest here. Most people don't speak to an attorney because things are going exceptionally well in their lives! It generally takes a serious concern or a painful unsettling experience to motivate people into seeking out legal advice. And while a lawyer can remove or lessen the legal situation, there is a whole new serious concern and painful experience for the client when they open up the bill and see what their case is going to cost them."
It is much more affordable in the end. And let's be honest, most people don't come to speak to an attorney because things are going well in their life!
Average attorney fees in Grand Rapids are $200/hr. Most attorneys do not bill a client for less than 15 minutes of their time, even if it only takes 2 minutes to handle a question over the phone. At $200/hr., that 2 minute phone call would end up costing the client $50. At that rate, the retainer is quickly used up and the client ends up getting large legal bills, with no guarantee that they will end any time soon. On the date that a client is going to court, the attorney begins charging for his/her time upon getting in their car to drive to the courthouse. The client also ends up paying for additional hours if the judge is running behind, or the multiple cases before them are started late (and they almost always are). In most family law cases (i.e., divorce, custody, visitation), that factor alone could easily run the client an extra $600 each time they have to appear in court. "Time is money", but is it truly fair to pay that much money when your attorney only needs a small portion of those hours in the courtroom to take care of you and your case? We didn't think so either.
Aside from that, if your attorney is being paid by the hours, it removes the incentive to be aggressive with your case and get it done quickly. And you, as a client, have to trust that your attorney truly is working on your case during the time you are being billed for.
Simpler than hourly billing and time sheets;
Allows us to work out a fair and flexible payment plan on site instead of spending extra money to have a third party taking care of billing - we pass these savings on to the client in the form of lower rates;
Clients can call office and quickly find out remaining balance due.
