THE MORAL HIGH GROUND ON ATTORNEY'S FEES, HOW THE GUYS GRAB IT!

Any time you ask me about my divorce, I can tell you exactly how much I had to pay for it, and how much each attorney charged me.  One reason I can do this is because I had to disclose that information to the other side during repeated requests for discovery. 

 

I want to tell you how awful that was to do as the sums of money mounted and mounted.  I am surprised that my attorneys weren't ashamed every time I had to submit their bills to the other side again. 

 

In contrast, I never once saw a single one of my ex husband's bills from his attorney.  Of course, what does it matter really.  With an agreeable divorce attorney, those things can be concocted!  I mean, I am already very well aware that my ex had his attorney provide him with a fabricated statement which he later used in his taxes to the IRS to get a reduction in his tax bill. 

 

But to get back to the point.  Why didn't I ever see bills from my ex husband's attorney? 

 

Because my ex husband was never required to comply with discovery requests the way I was.  He would give whatever documents he felt like giving and those he chose to provide were never that revealing.  He wouldn't even include information about how much he was paying his attorney on his financial affidavits.  Somehow he managed to evade accountability every time. 

This is why the rules of court are so amusing, because they usually only apply to the party the Court has decided to screw! 

 

If you were actually to believe my ex, he only paid around $15,000 for the first year and a half of litigation.  So imagine how it looked to the trial court that I was paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for my representation when my very frugal ex husband was only paying $15,000.  It made me look as though I was financially profligate while my ex husband looked like an economic Saint! 

 

From the beginning my ex had tried to portray me as this big spender, which wasn't actually true.  However, what with all the massive sums my attorneys were burning up, I sure looked like a big spender!  Then when I ran out of money and could no longer pay my attorney's fees, I was this bad person who was so irresponsible I wasn't paying my attorney's fees. 

 

Damned if I do, and damned if I can't any longer!  

 

This same thing happened to me recently in another situation in Court which was one of those spinoff lawsuits that emerged from my original divorce.  In this case, the opposing side is asking to be reimbursed for attorney's fees and the attorney is claiming that he is only being paid one fifth of his normal hourly fee out of friendship for his client and his faith in the cause. 

 

Now, I would love to believe in the high moral purpose expressed by this attorney, but the practical experience I have had in court all these years leads me to be doubtful.  What I really think is going on here is that the opposing side has been able to grab the moral high ground by claiming the attorney's representation is not motivated by financial gain but purely by the righteousness of his client's cause.

 

Meanwhile, here I am paying these exorbitant fees again appearing to be trying to destroy my wonderful underdog enemy with my greater financial resources! In this situation, the opposing side is likely to win just because they look so marvelous because of this bogus financial arrangement. 

 

The reality is, you and I know these attorneys. 

 

None of them works for free or for less than they can squeeze out of you.  Somewhere or somehow, they are getting pay back.  They are getting it through the barter system, through the exchange of power or influence, or they are getting it because they are taking money from their client under the table. 

 

One way or another, they are being paid. 

 

So my point is, when you are in Court for any particular reason, why not try the same scam? 

 

Why not grab the moral high ground, cut a deal with your attorney to reduce the apparent fees he or she is charging you, and find a way to let the judge know how financially virtuous you are, how frugal about the expenditure of attorney's fees. 

 

Trust me, you will benefit if you do.