Tips to cut down on your legal bills
- Ask what information you can bring or send ahead of your appointment, if your lawyer does not have a process for that
- Be on time for your appointments, including phone and zoom appointments
- Don’t copy your lawyer on any email that they are not being asked to action
- Make sure the subject line in emails relates to that particular email, so your lawyer can find and file your emails quickly
- Keep emails short and to the point
- Seek out other supports such as financial advice, divorce coaching, counselling, so you can be clear-headed and keep to the law, with your lawyer
- Have a goal for your meeting and let the lawyer know at the start what you are needing or hoping to cover
- If you don’t understand something, ask. There are no dumb questions
- Ask for a written summary of important meetings (but expect to pay for that)
- Discuss how you are going to communicate: in person, by phone, by email, and ask what turn-around time you can expect at each step of the way
- Bonus tip: You are allowed to be human, but be nice. Lawyers are people too, and you don’t want to be that client whose file sits at bottom of the pile because you are rude or scary
- Bonus bonus: Legal support staff are extremely skilled professionals as well as humans. Be EXTRA nice to them!
