Most family lawyers charge based on time, meaning the more efficiently you use their time, the less you will spend. In this article, Special Counsel Matthew Shepherd shares eight essential tips to help you save both your time and money.  

1. Providing Documents and Information

Your lawyers will request various documents from you. You can save them time, and save yourself money, by

  • Providing the information and documents they request as quickly as possible and in one reply.
    • If you send them by a series of emails, it takes the lawyer longer to review, understand, and file them.
  • When sending documents to your family lawyer as attachments to emails, give them a clear identifying name.

2. Use Lawyers as Lawyers, and Use Counselors as Counselors

Our family lawyers understand that separation has a big impact on their clients’ emotions. Their empathy is one reason they have chosen to do family law. Our family lawyers, however, are not trained counsellors and our time is charged at a higher rate than charged by qualified counsellors and psychologists. It is more effective to use a counsellor separately from a lawyer. We can suggest experienced counsellors if you wish.

3. Make a List of Questions

You will have many questions which we are happy to answer. Rather than asking your questions and concerns one by one in separate telephone calls or emails, take note of them and then send us a single email with a list. We will spend less time reading and considering your questions by reading a single email and we can then answer them more quickly through a single telephone call or email back to you.

4. Organise Your Filing

Save our emails in a single easy-to-access file. That will allow you to review the questions you have asked and the questions we have provided. This might prevent you from needing to ask the same question twice.

5. Prioritise Meeting Times with Your Family Lawyer

Set aside sufficient time for our meetings with you and be in a place on your own where you can focus. Driving is not ideal. You are welcome to come into our office for meetings, but we can also confer by video or phone. Video can be more effective than phone to have a fuller discussion and we can do calculations and go through documents on the screen with you. This way we can cover all the issues we need to discuss and avoid the need for follow-up emails. It will also assist you in understanding and remembering the advice and suggestions we have given.

6. Answer Questions to The Best of Your Ability

We have an online questionnaire that allows us to gather information from you without spending time asking you the questions. Make your best attempt to answer the questionnaire as fully as possible. It will save us time and your money. You can redo the questionnaire a second time if you wish to add information.

7. Settling Your Matter Early On

Try and settle your matter as early as possible. Avoid going to court If an otherwise acceptable agreement can be reached, Mediation is one way to reach agreement quickly. The cost of the mediator and our fees of preparing and attending a successful mediation will save you the much greater costs of an extended negotiation or going to court.

8. Staying Realistic

Be realistic in your objectives for settlement. We can guide you. Trust in our expertise and the suggestions and advice we give. Our family lawyers have been through thousands of separations. Hopefully, you will only go through one. We can suggest what has worked well for many clients and what has not worked well.

How Ramsden Family Law Can Assist You

Family law matters can feel overwhelming, and understanding how lawyers charge for their time can add to the confusion. By following these simple steps, you can help make your matter easier to manage and ensure that you receive the right advice for your situation in a cost and time-efficient manner.

Our team of family lawyers has significant experience in simplifying complex family law matters and is committed to making the process as straightforward as possible for our clients. If you would like to speak with one of our experienced family lawyers, please do not hesitate to contact us. We offer a free 30-minute initial consultation.

Written by Matthew Shepherd

Posted in: Latest News

March 19 2025