Should I pay for a family law specialist?

When couples decide to start a family, they may not want to take any chances and opt for the best medical care that they can afford.  They top up their health insurance and employ a specialist obstetrician.  However, even with their health insurance, what with co-payments and so forth, it’s an expensive option that costs them a lot more than shared care through their GP and local hospital would have.  In most cases seeing a specialist, while providing a ‘peace of mind’ experience, is a costly exercise.  At least with regards to medicine. So it’s no surprise that you may find yourself asking, “Should I pay for a family law specialist?”

Does the same apply to family law and choosing a legal practitioner?

There does exist a perception that a specialist lawyer, as opposed to a generalist solicitor is an expensive option.  Surely, the more experience one has the more one will charge?

Possibly, but not necessarily.

Firstly, when speaking of a specialist family lawyer, we’re referring to a solicitor who (having many years behind his or her belt in the profession) decides to practice and specialise in this specific field of law. This is in stark contrast to the ‘one-stop-shop’ approach to law which has a lawyer tackling whatever matter walks through the door.

The latter approach is a dangerous one. It’s an approach that has the potential to cost YOU the consumer time and money (while also reducing the likelihood and degree of success).  You see, the field of law is huge. While it’s nice to think that lawyers are the fountain of all legal knowledge, this is simply not true.

Lawyers don’t, and quite simply, can’t, know everything about the law.

Too often in our practice we deal with the aftermath of this. That is, clients come to us when a solicitor (who actually knew precious little about family law) has failed.  In these situations, the story is the same: a messy file, exorbitant waiting times (for which there is still no resolution) and, too often a legal bill for which nothing much has been achieved.

You see, in the field of law we are in the business of charging you for our time. If we don’t know what we are doing on a matter, then you will need to pay us to learn what needs to be done. This learning takes time… time which the client pays for.

As lawyers who are devoted to the singular practice of family law, we have already devoted considerable time into it and therefore, it is rare for us to discover something new (and if we do, we have plenty of resources at our fingertips to resolve any issues that may arise). In essence this makes us more efficient.

Efficiency means we get the job done faster, with a higher likelihood of success at a lower cost to you.

Finding the right person to meet your legal needs is possibly the most important step in achieving success in any legal journey.  When the wrong person takes control of your file you risk extended waiting periods and higher fees.  A legal specialist, on the other hand, provides a nuanced understanding of the law in their interest area.  This is knowledge, that when applied to your matter, offers you more predictable outcomes both in time and cost.

If you want to speak with one of our family lawyers in relation to your matter, please give us a call on (03) 9793 7888 or send us an email at reception@justfamilylaw.com.au