Family law fees: why we prefer a fixed price to an hourly rate

The problem with paying for time

Most lawyers charge by the hour. The Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner describes hourly billing as the most common approach, often recorded in six-minute units. The longer the work takes, the more the client pays.

In our view, that creates an inherent perverse incentive: the billing model financially rewards more time spent, rather than efficient resolution. A drawn-out dispute can generate more fees than a prompt, practical settlement. That is a criticism of the incentive built into the model, not an assertion that every lawyer who charges hourly deliberately delays a matter.

As a client, you usually have little knowledge of how long a task should take and limited control over how long your lawyer spends on it. We do not think you should have to carry that uncertainty simply because time-based billing is traditional.

Would you pay a locksmith more for taking longer?

Imagine being locked out of your home. One locksmith can open the door in ten minutes; another takes three hours. Would it make sense to pay the slower locksmith much more simply because the job took longer? You want the door opened competently, not the largest possible number of hours spent on the lock.

Legal work is more complex than unlocking a door, and a lawyer cannot control the other party or the court. But the principle is useful: experience, preparation and efficiency should benefit the client.

An hourly engagement can feel like signing a blank cheque when you cannot judge the time needed. It is not literally unrestricted: lawyers have costs-disclosure obligations, costs must be fair and reasonable, and clients have rights to question bills. Those protections matter, but an estimate still does not provide the same certainty as a fixed price for an agreed scope.

A large bill is not the same as progress

In our practice, we regularly see cases where clients have been charged $30,000–$50,000 in legal fees without any real progress towards a resolution. That is our experience of matters we encounter, not a claim about every lawyer or every case.

A dispute may genuinely require substantial work. Even so, clients deserve a clear explanation of what the work is intended to achieve, what the next step will cost and how it helps move the matter towards a practical outcome.

A fixed price for a defined stage

In most cases, we offer a fixed price for stages of work. We agree what is included and put the fees in our client agreement. You can then decide whether to proceed with that stage knowing its price.

This puts the onus on us to organise the work well and move it forward in a streamlined way. Spending longer on the same agreed work does not increase our fixed fee. Our commercial incentive is to work efficiently, aligning it more closely with your interest in resolving the matter.

Efficiency does not mean rushing advice or pressing you to accept an unsuitable settlement. The objective is considered advice and purposeful progress, with you making the decisions about your matter.

What do our clients usually pay?

In our experience, most of our clients do not pay more than $7,000 from when we are first instructed until their matter is finalised.

That describes our experience across the practice; it is not a quote, a cap or a promise for your matter. Matters requiring several stages, formal mediation or litigation can cost more. For example, the two listed pre-litigation stages are $5,500 each, or $11,000 if both are required. Your actual work and fees will be set out in your client agreement.

One less uncertainty during separation

Separation can leave almost every part of life unsettled: your home, finances, plans and relationships. Uncertainty about legal fees should not add another avoidable source of stress.

Knowing the cost of an agreed stage helps you budget and decide what you can commit to. It also makes it easier to ask for the advice you need without wondering what another hour might add to the bill.

Cost certainty can be a strategic advantage

Settlement decisions are commercial decisions as well as personal ones. The amount in dispute needs to be considered alongside the cost, risk and time involved in pursuing it.

When you know the price of the next stage, you can assess an offer against a clearer picture of what continuing will involve. You can weigh the likely benefit of further negotiations or mediation, rather than trying to make that decision against an open-ended legal bill.

That clarity can provide a real strategic advantage: you can make an informed decision about when to negotiate further, when to compromise and when further work is justified. It cannot guarantee a particular settlement, but it gives you a firmer basis for deciding.

Start with the scope and the price

Our fixed-fee page sets out the services and stages we commonly offer, their prices and what is included. The listed prices include GST where applicable, court fees and other outgoings for the work described.

A listed fixed fee is not available in every case. We will discuss your circumstances and record your actual fees and the agreed scope in your client agreement. You can start with a free initial consultation with Daniel Brownlie to talk about your situation.