Fees
What it costs, with the arithmetic shown
Flat fees where the work is predictable. A trust account you can audit where it is not. Below is a real-shaped first month, billed line by line, so nothing about the first statement is a surprise.
Flat fees
Where the work is genuinely predictable, a flat fee is better for both of us. You know the number, and we have no incentive to make the file longer than it needs to be. A flat fee converts to hourly if the matter becomes contested, and we tell you in writing the day that happens rather than at the end of the month.
| Matter | Basis | Sample fee | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agreed divorce, no children | Flat fee | $2,450 | Short marriages, no minor children, no disputed asset |
| Agreed divorce with children | Flat fee | $3,650 | Parents who already agree on the schedule and the number |
| Uncontested stepparent adoption | Flat fee | $3,200 | A stepparent where the other parent will sign |
| Contested family matter | Evergreen retainer | $3,500 | Any case where the other side is contesting something |
Hourly rates
Contested work is billed in tenths of an hour against a retainer. Work is assigned to the lowest rate that can properly do it, which is why a paralegal prepares exhibits and an attorney argues the hearing.
| Who | Sample hourly rate |
|---|---|
| Founding attorney, board certified in family law | $395 |
| Senior associate attorney | $315 |
| Associate attorney | $285 |
| Certified paralegal | $125 |
| Legal assistant | $85 |
How the trust account works
Your retainer goes into the firm's IOLTA account, which is a pooled trust account required by the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Conduct. It is your money, not ours, until it is earned. Each month we produce an itemised statement, transfer the earned amount out of trust and leave the rest where it is.
Ours is an evergreen retainer, meaning you top it back up when the balance falls below a set floor, so the case never stops because the account ran dry mid-hearing. Whatever is left when the matter closes is refunded to you.
- Deposit
A sample $3,500 goes into the IOLTA trust account. Nothing has been earned yet.
- Work is recorded
Every task is logged in tenths of an hour with a description you can read and check.
- Statement issued
On the first of the month you receive the itemised statement below before any transfer happens.
- Earned fees transferred
The earned amount moves from trust to the firm's operating account. Court costs are reimbursed the same way.
- Top up or close
Below $1,200 we ask you to replenish. At the end of the matter the unearned balance is refunded.
A worked first month
This is a contested divorce with children that reached a temporary orders hearing in the first month. It is the single most common first-month shape we bill, and every figure below is a sample.
A contested month with a hearing in it will usually exceed the opening retainer, and this one does. When the trust balance crossed the $1,200 floor mid-month we sent a replenishment request for $2,500, which is exactly what the word evergreen means. The case did not pause and the hearing went ahead. A trust account never goes negative: work stops before that happens.
| Task | Who | Rate | Hours | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft and file Original Petition and standing order request | Associate | $285 | 2.4 | $684.00 |
| Client conference, intake and document review | Associate | $285 | 1.8 | $513.00 |
| Prepare and file Motion for Temporary Orders | Associate | $285 | 1.6 | $456.00 |
| Assemble exhibits and the monthly expense schedule | Paralegal | $125 | 3.2 | $400.00 |
| Temporary orders hearing preparation with client | Senior associate | $315 | 2.0 | $630.00 |
| Temporary orders hearing, including docket wait | Senior associate | $315 | 3.1 | $976.50 |
| Draft the temporary orders and circulate for signature | Paralegal | $125 | 1.4 | $175.00 |
| Professional fees | 15.5 | $3,834.50 | ||
| District clerk filing fee, El Paso County | Court cost | - | - | $350.00 |
| Private process server, one respondent | Court cost | - | - | $85.00 |
| Certified copies and records requests | Court cost | - | - | $42.00 |
| Costs advanced | $477.00 | |||
- Opening retainer into trust
- $3,500.00
- Mid-month replenishment
- $2,500.00
- Less professional fees, 15.5 hours
- -$3,834.50
- Less costs advanced
- -$477.00
- Balance remaining in trust
- $1,688.50
The balance is above the $1,200 replenishment floor, so no top-up is needed this month.
What that month tells you
- The hearing itself, including docket wait time, was the single largest line. Court time is expensive because it is unpredictable.
- Paralegal time at $125 did 4.6 hours of work that would have cost three times as much at an attorney rate.
- Court costs are advanced by the firm and reimbursed from trust. They are not fees and no part of them is income to us.
- A month with no hearing typically bills far less. A month with a deposition or mediation bills more.
- The opening retainer did not cover a month with a contested hearing in it. That is normal, and it is why the retainer is evergreen rather than a fixed deposit.
Court costs you will see
| Item | Sample cost |
|---|---|
| District clerk filing fee, new family suit | $350 sample |
| Issuance of citation | $8 sample per party |
| Private process server | $75 to $125 sample |
| Constable service | $85 sample |
| Citation by publication | $250 to $600 sample |
| Certified copy of a final decree | $1 per page plus $5 certification, sample |
Court costs are set by the district clerk and change. An applicant for a protective order may not be charged a fee for filing, service or entry of the order.
How to spend less on your own case
- Answer discovery once, completely. Partial answers generate a motion to compel, and the motion costs more than the answers would have.
- Send documents in one organised batch. Twelve emails with one attachment each is billable sorting time.
- Use email for updates, calls for decisions. A six-minute email costs a tenth of an hour. A forty-minute call about the same thing does not.
- Do not litigate the furniture. If the disputed item is worth less than a day of hearing preparation, the arithmetic is already against you.
- Follow the standing order exactly. Every violation generates a motion, a hearing and a bad first impression.
- Take mediation seriously. It is the cheapest day in the entire case, and it resolves most of ours.