Legal Question in Family Law in Pennsylvania
Finding a Lawyer
My husband is in the middle of a custody battle and he has a very good case. His 1st lawyer was told not to speak in the 1st conciliation & he was basically defending himself. He just went to an initial conference with another lawyer who told him it would be $200/hr with a $5K retainer. We make too much money to qualify for legal aid but don't have $5K to retain him. Are there any lawyers out here who would be willing to represent him for less than $5K. We can pay for a lawyer. Hearing is scheduled for Dec. 17 2007. Mother missed 3rd conciliation and conference officer referred it to a judge. Pre-trial conference is over. We will do whatever preperation is required we just need someone on his team in the hearing. Please help if possible or maybe someone can refer us to someone who is willing to help.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Finding a Lawyer
You asked about paying for a lawyer.
Lawyer's need to pay for the expenses of life as does any other person. We do this by charging fees. Many times a lawyer can get a result that the client wanted and then won't get paid by the client. No lawyer wants to sue a client to get paid his/her fee.
To help protect against this most lawyers charge a retainer. This assures payment at least to the extent of the retainer. If the matter exceeds the retainer then it may be that the client won't pay anything more and a judge may refuse to let the attorney withdraw from the case. That means the lawyer may be working for free and how zealous can an advocate be when essentially forced to allow a client to steal time.
The $200 per hour would be charged against the retainer. If you only use 10 hours of the lawyer's time then you would get a refund of the unused retainer. But if you exceed the amount of the retainer then you may not make good on the remaining monies owed.
My suggestion is to go with the attorney that you feel comfortable with and try to negotiate the retainer. Maybe make payments against it such as $2000 now and then the full $5000 before thanksgiving, for example. Otherwise you should borrow the money. Most lawyers can't afford to operate as banks and if you family or friends won't lend you money then why should a lawyer?
About the best reason to pay a retainer was stated by Abraham Lincoln: When you pay a lawyer a retainer you know you have a lawyer and the lawyer knows he has a client.
Regards,
Roger
Re: Finding a Lawyer
The reasons lawyers ask for retainers is that the court can force a lawyer to continue to represent a non paying client. I would be willing to discuss further your situation and see if a mutually agreable situation can be found. I offer free initail consultations.
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