The other attorney in one of my new divorce cases really made me  laugh.  My client has little assets, a ton of liabilities and a business that has been getting hit hard in this economy.  However, it seems like the other side has convinced this attorney that my client has a ton of money.  As a result, he charged a huge retainer and has already done a ton of work on the case before my client even had a chance to file an Answer.  Besides a ton of unnecessary information in the Complaint itself, he filed a motion and sent out a ton of subpoenas right away.  Of course, he made no attempt to try to resolve this case with my client.  There was also no reason why he couldn’t wait until the normal discovery process got under way to get the documents he requested.

I’ve dealt with this guy before and in my opinion, this is the typical situation where the attorney took a big retainer is attempting to blow through it as soon as possible so he can get more.  As soon as the money runs out, I am sure the attorney will pack up shop and head out.  If he does stay on the case and continues to run up a bill, he’ll probably sue his client to get the money.  Its really sad because it gives the rest of us a bad name.

If you really want to buy your attorney a new fancy car, go ahead and find one of these attorneys.  If you want to save money, look for an attorney that gives you options including options to save you money.  For example, one of my other divorce clients wanted to file for adultery.  I explained to him that there was nothing for him to accomplish and that it could cost him about another $200 just to file it that way but that I would do whatever he wanted.  He realized that it didn’t make any sense to do that so he opted for the cheaper alternative.  That’s what I do with all of my clients.  If your attorney does not help you save money, chances are, you will be wasting a lot of it.

I like to go to other attorney’s offices and compare them to mine, especially the big firms.  As the owner of my own firm, I know where every cent goes.  So, when I’m at someone else’s office, I like to add up the cost of setting up and running that office.  Sometimes, I’m blown away by how fancy and exotic these offices are.  I also don’t understand the point.  Maybe if you are in a big city and you have major corporations as clients, you need to impress them, but for the average client, does it really matter?  My office is nice and modern but fancy?  Hardly.  I also don’t drive a fancy card.  Its not that I don’t have the money, its just that I don’t see the point.

Lets say I spend $100,000 on a really fancy office space.  Does that make me a better attorney?  Does a jury, a judge or the other attorney care?  Will they even know?  Not at all.  So, why should you care what your attorney does with their money?  In my opinion, this should be a major issue because you are paying for your attorney’s overhead.  As attorneys, we do not have products to sell; only time.  The more overhead we have, the more time we have to bill.  When you run out of time to sell, you sell your time for more money.  In other words, you raise your hourly rates. 

My costs are razor thin.  I run a very efficient office and I have 8 office locations in New Jersey.  However, I have hunted for value as if my life depends on it.  As a result, of keeping my costs low, I probably have better margins than almost any other attorney.  Thus, I can also keep my hourly rates low.  In turn, I can be more accessible to other people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford me if my rate was $100 more per hour.  So, when you go to an attorney’s office and you are impressed by all the glitzy (and unnecessary) furniture and accessories, keep in mind that you paid for it!