Every law firm has their own billing method. Our firm has been moving towards
charging flat fees for uncontested matrimonial matters whenever possible. However, if your case is contested, it is usually necessary
to bill hourly since we really can't predict the amount of time it will take to fully prosecute your case. As a matter of
fact, most firms continue to bill hourly for family matters regardless of whether your case is simple or complex.
Over the years I have had the opportunity to review bills from many different lawyers in the area.
I find that, generally speaking, lawyers bill by "tenths of the hour" instead of by actual minutes expended on your case.
"Tenths of the hour" billing Explained: If you divide an hour by ten,
each "tenth of an hour" equals 6 minutes. As a result of this practice, a matter that takes 5 minutes or less is rounded
up to 6 minutes (or .1) for billing purposes. You would expect that a matter taking
7 minutes is rounded down to 6, but it only works that way in math class--not in law offices. Everything is rounded
up.
The 19 Minute Phone Call
By the time you wait on hold after speaking to a receptionist, it isn't unusual for the simplest phone
call to take almost 19 minutes. 19 minutes of lawyer time is
usually rounded up to be billed at 24 minutes (which shows up on your bill as .4). So you are being billed for 6 minutes extra.
Six minutes may not sound like much until you do the math. Most lawyers charge an hourly rate ranging
from $225 to as high as $375 per hour, or $3.75 to $6.25 per minute. So you could be out of pocket an extra $25 every
time you call your lawyer for 19 minutes.
This is how many lawyers bill. But not us. When I started my law practice some
years back, I decided that I was going to do things a bit differently. We bill by the amount of minutes we actually
work. A 19 minute phone call in our office will cost a full 20% less than firms which bill by the "tenth of an hour."
That's right--we'd bill for exactly 19 minutes. And your bill will say just that:
19 minutes. We don't bill in "tenths of the hour" or "points". Our bills are written in plain english.
Hourly rates also vary greatly. Our firm bills at a reasonable hourly
rate which varies by the complexity of the matter. We'll always tell you our hourly rate when you hire us, and that rate
typically will not change for the duration of your divorce.
Sticking with the same example of the 19 minute phone call,
if you end up hiring us instead of one of those $375 per hour law firms (billing at the usual "tenth of an
hour" increment), you actually save as much as 50%. Why would anyone pay double for the same services? It
beats me.
So, the next time someone tells you "all lawyers are the same," don't believe it! Some lawyers are
charging you what amounts to hidden fees in those "tenth of an hour" increments.
Question: Is it reasonable to ask the law firm you want to hire whether they bill this way? You'd
be foolish not too! If a lawyer won't take the time to explain this to you, it makes you wonder how many other things he
or she will gloss over because they just can't take the time out of their busy day. And if they tell you "its just the way
our firm bills," then maybe they just aren't the right firm for you.
I have some images of different bill excerpts to give you an example of this billing practice. I
removed any reference to actual people:
