Spartanburg Divorce Lawyer & Attorney : Stevens-MacPhail Law Firm : South Carolina Family Law Serving Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, Hilton Head Island

As many of my readers know, I believe in the use of technology to improve the practice of law and delivery of legal services to my clients.  Toward that end, I frequently speak at legal technology seminars, and this year I am speaking at the ABA TechShow currently being held in Chicago, Illinois. 

I am also featured in the cover story in this month's ABA Journal, "Mac v. PC, Two lawyer-experts duke it out over the greatest quandary of the new century."  This article has generated a great deal of discussion on this topic, and the reception of this article by the attendees at TechShow has really been overwhelming.

The other speakers at this seminar are some of the superstars of the legal technology arena, including Dennis Kennedy, Adriana Linares, Bretty Burney, and LexBlog's own Kevin O'Keefe.  Although Kevin and I have talked by phone and traded emails for several years, this is the first time we've actually been able to meet face to face.  If you have any interest in legal technology, this is definitely the seminar to attend next year.

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Why is it that most family law attorneys handle cases on an hourly basis?  Did they consider and evaluate the many different billing options that are available and then conclude that this was the best one?  I doubt it.  I believe that the reason that attorneys use that archaic method is simply because that was the way they were taught or the way it has always been done at their firms.

When presented with the possibility of handling cases on a fixed fee basis, most attorneys say that domestic cases are too unpredictable to enable them to establish a fee with any confidence.  However, I believe that is a cop out answer.  The fact is that insurance actuaries establish premiums for things such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and even death – all of which are certainly more difficult to predict than Family Court cases.  If they can do it with some level of precision, why can’t attorneys?  The answer is that we can and we should.

Attorneys benefit in the following ways from handling family law cases on a fixed fee basis:

• No longer having to track every minute of every day will mean that the attorney is no longer a slave to the billable hour.  For most attorneys, tracking time is a stressful, cumbersome, and tedious process.  It is inconvenient and counterproductive to have to continuously stop working on clients' cases to record what time was spent on each one, and then to track and review the recorded time at the end of each day or week.
• The attorney will gain several extra hours per week that used to be spent recording time, and this newly found time can be spent working on clients’ files, spending time with family, or relaxing – all of which are better than chasing the tail of the billable hour.
• Even more time will be saved by not having to send out as many bills per month, record and process the payments, and deal with the trust accounting issues that are involved with retainers.
• There should be no disputes with clients over the amount of a bill and/or no questions to be answered about the amount of time that was spent on a given activity, because the amount charged for the services was negotiated and agreed upon before the representation began.
• Handling cases in this manner gives the attorney the ability to decide up front if he/she wishes to represent someone for a reduced fee, such as military personnel, teachers, or other public servants.
• There are other benefits to the attorney, such as the additional leverage gained when establishing fees in this manner and the ability to deposit these fees directly into the attorney's operating account if the fee agreement is drafted properly.

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The American Bar Association released a report just over five years ago that was very critical of the “standard” way that many (if not most) attorneys charge their clients for their services.  Its conclusion was that “[t]he billable hour is fundamentally about quantity over quality, repetition over creativity.”  To me, that doesn't sound like it contributes at all to what should be the attorney's ultimate goal -- providing clients with the best possible service.

Approximately two years ago, I began handling all family law cases on a fixed fee basis instead of charging by the hour as I had done for many years.  When a client hires an attorney on an hourly basis, that client is basically writing the attorney a blank check and crossing his/her fingers hoping that the total fees are what he/she anticipated.  I know that if I was the client, I would definitely prefer the certainty of knowing the total cost instead of hoping for the best.

Specifically, I believe that clients receive the following benefits from hiring attorneys for a fixed fee:

• Clients know the total cost up front, which enables them to determine prior to retaining the attorney whether or not they can afford his/her services and to budget for the attorney's fees and costs. 
  
• Clients have another basis upon which to compare attorneys, both in the manner they charge for their services (fixed fee vs. hourly) as well as the amount charged ($X vs. $Y).
  
• Clients never end up in fee disputes with their attorneys, because all fees were negotiated and agreed upon before the representation began.
• This method encourages open communication from the client to the attorney.  In hourly billing situations, clients sometimes hesitate to provide information to the attorney because they know that they will incur fees and costs for doing so.
• Clients have a higher level of trust with their lawyers, which results in a better working relationship, which frequently yields better outcomes in the clients' cases.

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Last week, I was privileged to speak at the annual "Hot Tips From the Coolest Domestic Law Practitioners" seminar presented by the South Carolina Bar.  This seminar typically features outstanding presentations from the best and brightest legal minds all across South Carolina, and it was truly an honor to be in such esteemed company.

My presentation this year was "Make Time Work For You: Handling Cases On A Fixed Fee Basis."  Because I strongly believe that handling family law cases in this manner is beneficial for both attorneys and our clients, I will post excerpts from my presentation on my blog this week. 

I would like to again thank the South Carolina Bar and the seminar coordinator, Ken Lester, for asking me to speak at this year's Hot Tips seminar.

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A series of free legal seminars will be held in Spartanburg on the first Monday of the next several months.  These seminars are sponsored by the South Carolina Bar and are open to anyone who wishes to attend.  These seminars will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will consist of a 30 to 45 minute presentation, followed by a 30-45 minute question and answer session.

The dates, topics, and presenters are set forth below:

• February 5, 2007  ::  Family Law Issues  ::  J. Benjamin Stevens, Esquire of Stevens - MacPhail, P.A.
  
• February 5, 2007  ::  Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Wills, & Power of Attorney  ::  Paul C. MacPhail, Esquire of Stevens - MacPhail, P.A.
  
• March 5, 2007  ::  Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Wills, DNR Order, & Power of Attorney  ::  Edwin C. Haskell, III, Esquire of Smith & Haskell Law Firm, LLP
  
• April 2, 2007  ::  Wills, Estates, & Probate  ::  John E. Rogers, II, Esquire of Butler, Means, Evins & Browne, P.A.
  
• May 7, 2007  ::  Bankruptcy Law Issues  ::  Dana E. Wilkinson, Esquire

The seminars presented by Mr. Stevens, Mr. Haskell, and Ms. Wilkinson will be held at the Spartanburg County Public Library, which is located at 151 South Church Street in Spartanburg, South Carolina.  For directions, click HERE. 

The seminar presented by Mr. MacPhail will be held at the Westside Branch of the Spartanburg County, which is located at 525 Oak Grove Road in Spartanburg, South Carolina.  For directions, click HERE.

For additional information, you can contact Kay Hammond (864-596-3507) at the Spartanburg County Library.

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A series of free legal seminars will be held in Spartanburg on the first Monday of the next several months.  These seminars are sponsored by the South Carolina Bar and are open to anyone who wishes to attend.  These seminars will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will consist of a 30 to 45 minute presentation, followed by a 30-45 minute question and answer session.

The dates, topics, and presenters are set forth below:

• February 5, 2007  ::  Family Law Issues  ::  J. Benjamin Stevens, Esquire of Stevens - MacPhail, P.A.
  
• February 5, 2007  ::  Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Wills, & Power of Attorney  ::  Paul C. MacPhail, Esquire of Stevens - MacPhail, P.A.
  
• March 5, 2007  ::  Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Wills, DNR Order, & Power of Attorney  ::  Edwin C. Haskell, III, Esquire of Smith & Haskell Law Firm, LLP
  
• April 2, 2007  ::  Wills, Estates, & Probate  ::  John E. Rogers, II, Esquire of Butler, Means, Evins & Browne, P.A.
  
• May 7, 2007  ::  Bankruptcy Law Issues  ::  Dana E. Wilkinson, Esquire

The seminars presented by Mr. Stevens, Mr. Haskell, and Ms. Wilkinson will be held at the Spartanburg County Public Library, which is located at 151 South Church Street in Spartanburg, South Carolina.  For directions, click HERE. 

The seminar presented by Mr. MacPhail will be held at the Westside Branch of the Spartanburg County, which is located at 525 Oak Grove Road in Spartanburg, South Carolina.  For directions, click HERE.

For additional information, you can contact Kay Hammond (864-596-3507) at the Spartanburg County Library.                                              

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A free legal seminar titled "The Comprehensive Legal Representation of Children" will be held on Thursday, January 18, 2007, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at the Harbour Club, 35 Prioleau, Charleston, South Carolina.

Topics will include child welfare, juvenile justice, education, and the representation of the whole child.  Speakers are members of the working group of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation Children's Rights Litigation Committee (CRLC), which exists to increase and improve the quality of legal representation for children and to provide technical assistance to individuals and groups desiring to start children's law programs.  CRLC Working Group members represent programs nationwide such as the Children’s Law Center of Minnesota, the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center (Denver), and the Support Center for Child Advocates (Philadelphia).

This seminar is sponsored by Palmetto Children's Legal Services; the Children's Law Office, University of South Carolina School of Law; and the American Bar Association Section of Litigation Children's Rights Litigation Committee.  For more information, contact Blanche Richey at the Children's Law Office at (803) 576-5575.

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