Note – this page explains how Graham.Law‘s consult and retainer fees work. Click here to make a payment.

Reduced-Rate Family Law Consults

We offer three options for scheduling a consult with a Graham.Law attorney. And we’re not going to waste your time or ours – during your consult, we tell you what you need to know with real answers, not fluff or a sales pitch.

You should talk to a professional to explore your options, even if you’re unsure whether you wish to proceed. Fill out our contact form, or call us at (719) 630-1123 to set up a no-obligation consult.

30-Minute First-Time Consult

Meet with one of our dedicated family law attorneys for a half hour at the reduced rate of $100 (FREE for our military clients). And receive actual, unvarnished legal advice! Although 30 minutes is likely not enough time for a deep dive into your case, we value your time and will provide you with serious legal advice, not a sales pitch. Bring your most important questions so we can answer them.

The reduced-rate 30-minute consult is available for first-time domestic relations clients only and not for follow-up consults, or for prenuptial or postnuptial agreements.

1-Hour First-Time Consult

If you need more detailed answers, we offer a one-hour consult at the reduced rate of $200. During that time, we will roll up our sleeves (metaphorically speaking) and discuss your issues in-depth without worrying about running out the clock.

The reduced-rate 1-hour consult is available for first-time clients seeking to retain counsel. Otherwise, you can schedule a full-price one-hour consult.

1-Hour Regular Consult

If you have already had a reduced-rate consult with us, we are still available to answer questions, but it will be at our regular $425/hour rate not the reduced rate. Additionally, our regular consult is intended for people who do not necessarily intend to retain counsel but have documents that need reviewing or explaining.

Finally, we do not charge for a first missed consult. Unfortunately, due to no-shows, we will collect a non-refundable consult fee before booking another consult for a client with multiple cancellations or who missed a consult without calling at least a day in advance.

Retainer

Clients who retain a law firm pay a “retainer,” which is an up-front payment deposited into a trust account, and as work is performed, the fees are deducted from that retainer.

While the retainer may be sufficient for a prenuptial agreement, an uncontested case, or a more straightforward post-decree case, it almost certainly will not cover the costs of a contested divorce or child custody case. The retainer is not an estimate of your total costs but is an affordable down payment so you can at least get things started.

For divorces, our retainer is typically $6000, while for most other matters, the typical retainer is $3500-4500, depending upon the type of case. In certain instances where the attorney believes your case will involve a custody battle or more complicated financial disputes, a higher retainer may be required.

The retainer is legally your money until we earn it – it is not a flat-rate charge but a prepayment of a portion of your legal fees. If you decide to reconcile a couple of months into the case (as some of our clients have done), you will receive a refund of your unearned retainer balance. If you get a couple of months into your case and decide our firm is not a good fit for you (hopefully, that will not happen, but sometimes attorneys and clients don’t mesh properly), we withdraw, and you receive a refund of your remaining retainer balance.

Once representation begins, you will need to replenish your retainer to ensure an adequate balance for trial – the details are in our retainer agreement, but typically, you have to maintain a minimum $500 trust account balance until your case is set for a hearing, then it has to be replenished to the original retainer amount.

As for your total costs, litigation is unpredictable. We can pledge that we will not run up your fees needlessly, so in the end, you can count on receiving value for money.

Statutory notice re: credit card payments: “To cover the cost of processing a credit or charge card transaction, and pursuant to section 5-2-212, Colorado Revised Statutes, a seller or lessor may impose a processing surcharge in an amount not to exceed the merchant discount fee that the seller or lessor incurs in processing the sales or lease transaction. A seller or lessor shall not impose a processing surcharge on payments made by use of cash, a check, or a debit card or redemption of a gift card.” Note – we hate this fee too, but it’s necessary to defray the high credit card processing fees. Paying your retainer by debit card or check avoids this fee.

Hourly Fees

Our fees are mid-range for El Paso County: our associates charge $385/hr, our senior associates charge $425/hr, and our partners charge $485/hr. To thank our military members for their service, we have a 10% military discount.

But seriously, what matters most is how we perform for you, and from the fees perspective, it’s your total fees at the end of your case. We have litigated plenty of cases against other attorneys where both sides’ fees are before the court and, most of the time Graham.Law’s total fees are less than the other guys. Sometimes up to 30-50% less! Even the so-called cut-rate firms that charge a lower hourly rate end up costing you more as they bill for administrative tasks or just more hours to compensate for their lower hourly rate.

We challenge you to find a more dedicated team of lawyers with our experience and focus who provide better value for money.