Legal fees are one of the important aspects of choosing a divorce attorney, though many people take it lightly or don’t give much importance to it during the initial stages. In fact, it should be the primary concern to both divorce lawyer, and clients. Legal life offers a barrage of challenges; the decision has to be taken constantly negotiating with family and other things.
Prepare
Talk to the lawyers first and don’t go unprepared, thinking that you can negotiate next time. Do not go with their charismatic personality and blinding white smile. A proper plan can help you avoid poor performance. Do some research and collect all details to estimate before negotiating.
Ending It Gracefully
Politely ending or walking out of a compromise is one of the strongest decisions you can make. It makes the other party think that you’re looking for fair deal or not willing to compromise for the things that are most valuable for you. Much of the deal leads to win-win or successful negotiation, if both parties actually agree for fair decision.
Plan Before You Negotiate
You can take enough time to know your expectations, goals, and needs, before you enter into negotiation phase. If you aren’t happy with the outcome, you must be prepared to walk away. When you’re confident and well-prepared, things work out easily.
Keep the Discussions Open-Ended
Yet another thing to do while negotiating is ask questions; open-ended queries can work best to gain information and build a relationship. The question patterns are like why, when, what, who, how, and where can uncover your counterpart’s implicit and explicit needs. Respectful, well-timed, and strategic questions can be used to gather details, gain information, verify or clarify information, level of interest, and check understanding, gain participation, resolve behavioral style, reach agreement, and build rapport.
Understanding the Fee Structure
In divorce law the fee structure can vary from one service to another, based on the quality of the service provider, nature of client’s needs, and complexity of the case. Fee for attorney’s knowledge and skills varies from one lawyer to another and hence it’s imperative to understand how you’ll be charged, before taking up their services. Compare the rates and know different types of lawyer fee, knowing your expectations.
Types of Fees
The main form of fee arrangement is as follows:
- Fixed fees
- Hourly fees
- Contingency fees
- Value-added or percentage fees
Fixed Charges
Fixed charge is the most straightforward and simplest type of fee structure; when the factors involved in the case are known, it may be a good idea to fix a lump sum amount. If things change during due course of time, you can renegotiate the fixed fee with your lawyer. Hourly fee depends on the nature of your case and experience of the attorney. Ensure to ask your lawyer for a rough estimation of total time needed for your case if you’re not fixing total charges.
Percentage Fee
Percentage fee mainly represents the percentage of particular transaction or asset; value billing is the quality of the service. If the value of the service is high, then you would be charged more.Under contingency, you may have to pay certain percentage of settlement amount to your lawyer.
It is best to compare the costs and then determine what best suits your case. Negotiation is a skill; know where to start and where to end.
