Just how confusing are the fees charged by attorneys? Why can you find divorce fee quotes anywhere between $99 and $10,000? You don’t have to search far to be assaulted with promises of “cheap divorce,” “easy divorce” and so on.
Honestly, I’ve given up trying to figure why there is such a disparity in pricing among family law attorneys. For our firm, the better approach is to focus on the services we offer our clients and to make sure there is a rational correlation between our charges and the product we deliver.
Our firm philosophy is to not compete on price, but rather, to compete on value.
Prospective divorce and custody clients who compare firms on price alone often fail to consider the qualifications, experience and reputation of the lawyer they are hiring. Frankly, for many routine, uncontested divorces, maybe it doesn’t matter.
For many divorce and custody clients, however, the stakes are higher. To them, the choice of an attorney is one of the most important decisions they will ever make.
This is the type of client we meet in our offices.
Modesty aside, Schreier & Housewirth offers clients complete and professional family law representation at the highest level. Both Holly and I are graduates of the University of Texas School of Law and have practiced family law over 20 years.
I am Board Certified in Family Law, a member of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialistswhile Holly is one of the leading child advocates in north Texas. Of equal importance is the commitment of our staff, associate Jen Liles and paralegal Melissa Golden are dedicated to providing professional assistance to our clients.
When you call our offices, we know who you are and we know about your case.
The second element in our value equation is the competitive fee structure we offer our clients. We are always mindful of the fact that most divorce and custody clients have not been planning for a legal emergency such as a divorce or child custody dispute and they may not have substantial sums of money readily available to retain a lawyer. To help, we keep our charged retainer fees reasonable as well as provide Visa, MasterCard and Discovery credit card payment options.
A retainer fee is an advance payment of legal fees to engage our services. In short, the retainer gives us the assurance that we are compensated for our work on your case.
The retainer is not a “flat fee” or a non-refundable fee. The retainer is held in your separate client trust account to be drafted when we bill our time to your case. Each month, we send our divorce and family law clients a detailed billing statement explaining our charges and detailing the balance remaining in your client trust account.
At Schreier & Housewirth, legal fees for divorce, child custody and family law cases are not a mystery. We encourage a continuing conversation about fees incurred in your case… because it helps you know where you stand and to make the best decisions for yourself and your family.
