"Limited Scope" or "Unbundled" legal representation may be for you. 

Oregonians facing a family law case often have never hired a lawyer before so are often uncertain how to begin. Traditionally, lawyers are hired (“retained”) to handle all aspects of a case for the party they represent. This means that the lawyer: plans the strategy, files the legal papers, tracks all deadlines, communicates with the other party/their lawyer, gathers evidence, negotiates the settlement, and puts on the case at court. 

Because family law lawyers are not allowed to charge a percentage of the case as in personal injury, they bill by the hour. This often results in sticker shock and bills the average family cannot afford –especially at the time they are setting up a second household AND dividing incomes and assets in half. Lawyers who work in family law are allowed to handle limited parts of a case, called, Limited scope or unbundled representation. Limited scope means that you can get help with the parts of your case that are more technical while doing the rest yourself to save money and better control the way your case progresses. 

Unbundled representation allows you and the lawyer to decide how much of your case you hire them to do and how much you do on your own. If you decide to “unbundle” services, keep in mind that unless you return to the same attorney, you will be paying more to have each new lawyer get up to speed on your case every time you consult. 

You have the choice to divide up your case by specific:

• Tasks (such as preparing court papers or organizing evidence);
• Issues (such who gets particular assets, custody or pays support);
• Phases of a case (such as filing, discovery, trial preparation);

Want a breakdown of costs? Keep reading in our blog post, "Why You Should Budget Your Case Like a Vacation."

Some Things to Consider Before You Choose Unbundled

Unbundled services are not for everyone. If you are not able or too busy to keep track of court dates, have extreme conflict or can’t handle public speaking, unbundled may not be for you. However, the majority of families in Oregon and Jackson County are currently representing themselves anyway, but without any advice or guidance from lawyers. Unbundled services can bridge that gap by lowering not only cost but also lawyer involvement.  While it may sound strange for a lawyer to argue for limiting lawyer involvement, we have decided to do just that.  This is because we have seen time and time again how our current system often doesn’t serve the families it was built to help.  

High costs aside, traditional approaches come at a high cost in terms of stress at the time and ongoing stress for the years that follow. Because attorneys are trained to try cases with little focus on negotiation, settlement is often done only as an afterthought. It is easier – especially for very busy lawyers, to just add cases onto trial preparation assembly lines.Once one party hires a lawyer to handle their case, the other party likely will too so that before a family knows it, they are barreling down the track to trial with agreed resolutions left back at the station. 

Because we believe the current system of traditional lawyering has outlived its usefulness, we have decided to redesign our firm to focus on unbundled services that:

• Are more affordable for you ;
• Empowers you with knowledge and advice so you can do it yourself;
• Gives you  control of how your case is handled;
• Allow us to spend our time helping you find solutions instead of adding to your conflict;