Saving legal fees

So many people ask how to save on legal fees, and ask why I do not give information in my blog that would prepare them to go do it for themselves in court, so they never have to hire a lawyer in the first place.  I have many tips to save on fees (please see other posts, and come ack from time to time as I add new ones to my "how to work with a lawyer" section). 

However, I do not pretend to give a lesson in law during my blog posts.

Most experienced lawyers have encountered the situation where a client arrives having already messed up their cases.  We do not mind this, so long as the client knows that we are starting to work from a deficit, and that we might not be able to accomplish their goals at this point.  We do not mind when people pay us to correct the mistakes that they have made by attempting to proceed on their own, with the half-informed positions that they got by browsing the internet.  I have made a significant amount of money from clients who came to me after messing up thier own cases, and needed to be rescued from themselves.  However, we have happier results with our clients if we can direct the case from the start.

We have ethical requirements to comply with as well, for our practices.  Ethics requires that we not assist in the unauthorized practice of law.  We are permitted to assist in the general understanding and public education, but the issue is whether we are helping people or hurting people, when we give specific tips. 

For that reason, I confine my blog posts to information that will help you work with your legal counsel, as opposed to making some pretense of preparing you to do it for yourself.  The DIY lawyer has usually googled some issues, looked in Wikipedia, and maybe even gone to a law library to read a few professional articles and cases.  What they miss is the fact that the law is not static, so the case you read from 2008 might have been changed in the 3 years since it was written.  The statute you are relying on may have been interpreted differently than you are hoping, and worse… the tactic you have prepared might fail for no particular reason and because you have not had a legal education, you have no idea how to pull out of the tailspin that your case is in. 

To continue with that analogy, it’s very easy to fly the plane when it’s up and the skies are clear.  And maybe the online gaming pilot program has prepared you to handle dodging missiles that are being fired at you, but when it’s time to land, don’t you wish you had someone who actually completed flight school and has their pilot’s license? 

Trying to handle your own case is like trying to do surgery on yourself, fly a jet liner after having played “pilot” on your X Box, or building a skyscraper after having looked up how to build a house frame on the internet.  Most surgeons would not try surgery on themselves.  Most pilots will not fly with an unlicensed pilot at the controls, and most engineers expect a full-out architectural plans before they break ground on a new skyscraper.  To tell the truth, even most lawyers do not handle their own divorces.  It’s just plain foolish, saving a dime in the attempt to do something that could cost your life’s savings.   Keeping with the example of a divorce, there are very few conditions under which one should ever handle one’s own divorce.  Even if you are entirely in agreement with your spouse about what you want to have happen with the children and assets and debts, get a lawyer to write it up just to make sure you’ve been complete about it.  However, it is reasonable to expect to be able to handle your own divorce if you have no property, no debts, no claims to alimony, no children, and no expectation to get a share of each other’s retirement accounts.  Basically, we only expect this type of situation in very short marriages.  Otherwise, be careful, you may never know what you gave up unless you have a lawyer review it for you.    

The same principles work for other types of court action.  Unless the cost of what could be lost in the lawsuit is something that you are OK with losing, do not try it on your own.   

But please, keep coming to my blog to learn about how to avoid lawsuits, what the general rules are, how to dress in court, how manage your relationships or contract negotiations to avoid court, and how to manage your relationship with your attorney.  I have some good tips on how to use your attorney's services to minimize the fees, but trying to do without and attorney, is not one of them.