Or, if you are a divorcee, how much did you pay your attorney?
Answer by queendi_917
I was a paralegal for a divorce lawyer and they make ok money. The real money is in business/corporate/tax law. I think the atty I worked for cleared about $ 50 grand or so by the time she paid her overhead expenses- rent, payroll, etc. A lot of clients aren't great payers and you end up having to chase them down to get them to pay.
A typical divorce would cost our clients about $ 3500, but could be as high at $ 20,000 if a trial was involved. If you are a Hollywood lawyer representing multimillion dollar clients doing divorces, you would make more, but that is a whole separate ball game. Just depends on where you are located. Also, if you are in a city that is super saturated with lawyers, you will probably not make as much since there is more competition.
I would add that if you are not good with people- especially when they are hysterically crying and being completely irrational, you won't last long doing anything in family law.
Answer by Ms Responsibility
I think divorce lawyers make alot,because that is a common issue.Lawyers usually charge according to how much experience,will time,they increase what they desire to make
Answer by stephen t
That was a good first answer. Although, Ms. Responsibility's answer was dumb. Why do people answer questions when they have no knowledge. I have me head up my azz and have no clue but let me give my opinion on something I know nothing about.
Divorce attorneys can do ok, with half of the marriages ending up in divorce there are a lot of potential clients. However, there are a lot of attorneys, too many. The first poster said her boss cleared 50K, which is not going to make you rich, electricians and plumbers do better than that with out going to school for 7 years.
A lot of attorneys will combine divorce with another area of practice. I personally found divorce work to be depressing. A good saying I once heard is that criminal law is about bad people trying to behave their best, at least in court, and divorce law, is good people at their worst.
Divorce attorneys and what they make are all over the map. Some make very small money and others that represent celebrities or rich people make a lot of money.
The key factor, everything else being equal, where an attorney will make a lot of money is if the soon to be divorced people fight over money and kids, this will require drafting motions, court appearances, meetings and the costs can have no end in sight. If a husband and wife sit down together and agree on everything there is very little money to be made, it is just a matter of filing standard paperwork and one court appearance. I have seen attorneys offer to do these simple divorces for as low as $ 600 per divorce, flat fee.
It pays to be smart and price shop attorneys. Even if your divorce becomes hostile most people do not need a high fee charging attorney. There are many decent attorneys that charge $ 200 an hour but some attorneys charge $ 500, $ 600, $ 700 or more, whatever they can get way with. Some people can get a free divorce attorney through legal services if they meet income guidelines.
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Orignal From: Do divorce lawyers make a good salary, relative to other types of lawyers?
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