How Much Will a Divorce Lawyer Cost – A Quick Guide to Budgeting for Legal Expenses?

Many spouses contemplating divorce are rightfully concerned about the costs of legal fees. The dread associated with paying legal fees is entirely justified when recent news articles spit out headlines claiming that some lawyers charge upwards of $1,500 for an hour of work.¹ Reality does not support the idea that lawyers cost too much money to be truly valuable; however, as the headlines do not explain the whole story.

Several different variables will affect the cost of a divorce lawyer. Geography, the type of lawyer, and the type of law firm will all affect the cost of any divorce lawyer. As a result, it is difficult to generalize

How Are Lawyers Paid Generally – The Concept of Billable Hours

Most people are aware that lawyers charge by the hour. Specifically, however, lawyers tend to charge by the tenth of an hour. For each hour worked, whether the attorney spent one hour working straight through or spent tenths of hours working here and there, a client’s bill will reflect an hourly rate.

Some attorneys also work on a contingency fee basis. In contingency fee arrangements, attorneys will take a percentage of the winnings at trial. For example, if a client recovers $100,000 in court and an attorney’s contingency fee is 30%, then the lawyer will be owed $30,000. A recent variant on the contingency fee is the “reverse contingency fee.” In reverse contingency arrangements, attorneys will take a percentage of the amount of money that a client saves by going to court. For example, if a client owes $100,000, but only has to pay $50,000 after going to court, a lawyer working on a reverse contingency fee of 30% is owed $15,000.

Most family law and divorce attorneys charge hourly rates rather than contingency fees. In many states, contingency fees in family law and divorce cases are actually illegal.² You can generally expect that you will receive hourly invoices from your attorney every month.

Geographic Variance in Attorneys’ Fees

Lawyers working in different markets do not all charge the same rates. The reality is that hiring a lawyer in Manhattan will simply cost more than hiring a lawyer in Des Moines, Iowa. Furthermore, the cost of hiring a mediocre lawyer in Manhattan will likely be higher than paying for a good Iowa attorney.

This discrepancy in fees exists for several reasons. First is the cost of overhead. Office space in large cities in very expensive compared to in other locations, which can drive up hourly fees. Additionally, the cost of living in many major cities is also higher, which means that attorneys must earn more income to survive, which causes increases in attorneys’ fees.

How Types of Lawyers and LawAffect Attorneys’ Fees

Paying $1,500 per hour for an attorney sounds incredibly painful; however, that lawyer charging that amount is likely a law firm partner working in a large antitrust or business transaction law firm in Manhattan.³ However, hourly rates for many attorneys can be as low as $150 an hour.⁴ Attorneys are generally expensive, and you should expect to pay well for a good attorney, but when seeking a divorce, you likely will not break the bank even if you may have to budget.

To explain further, the type of lawyer you hire, the lawyer’s standing, and the lawyer’s law practice will all affect that lawyer’s rates. There are three broad categorizations of attorneys: associates, partners, and “of counsel.” Partners are the owners and managers of law firms, while associates are the lawyers that work for them. “Of counsel” normally serve as specialists that operate in a limited capacity for a law firm. Partners are generally the most expensive hourly attorneys, and the national average for a law firm partner’s work is over $700 per hour according to the ABA.⁵ Associates however, are less expensive for billing purposes and will do most of the work on an average case.⁶ Like partners and associates, large law firms will also generally bill more than small law firms.

The type of law involved also substantially affects the hourly rate of an attorney. The most expensive attorneys are corporate attorneys. General litigation and family law attorneys, however, tend to be much less expensive overall.

To Answer the Question: “How Much Will a Divorce Lawyer Cost?” …

The question is largely framed incorrectly. Rather than ask how much a divorce lawyer will cost, ask how much a divorce lawyer should cost and how much you are willing to pay. How much is at stake in your divorce? Are you and your spouse wealthy? Do you own land or do you have children that will be affected? All of these questions should affect how much your divorce lawyer should cost.

Most family law attorneys fall into the small law firm category. While some large law firms do have family law divisions, those lawyers that charge excessively high rates serve a very specific group of clients. Average divorce lawyers will likely charge anywhere from $150-$300 an hour depending on the location of their law practices. Fortunately, however, most lawyers are willing to negotiate their fee arrangements. If you are unable to pay an attorney’s fee, he or she will likely work with you on managing billing.

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