New York Divorce Report - New York's Divorce and Family Law Blog

When an action for a divorce is commenced, it is often the case that most of the marital assets available for the payment of legal fees are possessed or controlled by one of the spouses, usually the husband. In order to ensure that the parties will have equal access to skilled legal representation, the Domestic Relations Law authorizes awards of interim counsel fees to the nonmonied spouse during the course of the litigation. Because of the importance of such awards to the fundamental fairness of the proceedings, we hold that an application for interim counsel fees by the nonmonied spouse... More

My dialogue with Ben Stevens on the merits of billable hour versus the flat fee in a matrimonial action continues. Let me say at the outset, that I am certainly no fan of the billable hour. For many reasons, I  prefer the flat fee model. The number one reason, it is predictable. With certainty, I can answer the question every client asks, “How much will this matter cost?” When billing on an hourly basis, I can only estimate, giving a meaningless range. As pointed out in The Billable Hour: Are its Days Numbered, a flat fee may work on more... More

Benjamin Stevens offers a thoughtful series of articles on why attorneys and clients benefit from fixed fees in a divorce action. Some of the benefits cited by Stevens are: •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... More