It is our belief that effective legal representation begins and ends with trust. In the early stages of the attorney-client relationship we strive to be as honest and transparent as possible about our experience, capabilities, work process, billing policies and communication expectations. In return, we expect you to be honest and open with us about your goals, budget and expectations. We can only do our best job for you if we are fully informed!
Endzel Law, LLC primarily offers limited scope and flat fee representation. When requested by clients, or for those unique cases that do not have enough certainty for flat fees, we offer full scope representation at an hourly rate.
Limited scope representation means that Endzel Law, LLC’s legal efforts in your matter will be limited only to the work we have agreed to, that is described in the engagement agreement, and has been customized to accomplish your goals in the matter.
More information about the types of flat fees we offer is below.
Subscription Fees
This option gives us the ability to do the work required to successfully resolve more complex matters, while still offering you certainty and transparency in your legal fees. The engagement agreement both of us sign will list what services are included in your subscription fee.
We offer monthly subscription plans for more complex cases that have several issues to resolve over a longer period of time, which is the majority of family law cases. For example, parenting disputes or a divorce with contested issue or more complex financials.
Our subscription plans require payment of an initial flat fee which generally ranges from $1,000 – $4,500 and a monthly flat fee of $450 – $750 per month, depending on the complexity of your case and the scope of work that needs to be done, for each month we work on your case.
Flat Fees
This option is best for simple cases with a specific goal, for example, obtaining child support or finalizing an uncontested divorce. We will work within your needs and budget to customize a litigation plan, so you only pay for the help you need.
The engagement agreement both parties sign will list exactly what services are included for the flat fee.
Our flat fees generally range from $1,000 – $4,500 to initiate representation depending on the complexity of the case and the scope of work that needs to be done.
Hourly Consulting
This option is best for DIYers who are representing themselves but want extra help.
The engagement agreement we sign will list our availability and expected response times as well as the types of things we can help with. For example, we can calculate different child support scenarios for you, draft a parenting plan, or advise you on potential settlement options.
Hourly consulting starts with a refundable deposit of at least $1,000, and we charge our standard hourly rate for all services you request. you are only charged for the legal advice and work you determine you need. We do not provide any legal services or legal advice without advance payment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do You Offer Free Consultations?
In short, no. We ask for an investment of $150 for our consultation and case evaluation which must be paid before scheduling. We do this for several reasons. First, we put a lot of energy and effort into understanding and reviewing your situation. We try to give you the most effective and practical case evaluation we can, based on our experience. It’s likely that we will give you more information and knowledge than you can usually receive for that investment of time and money.
Second, we run a transparent, affordable family law practice. In order to keep offering low rates and flat fees we need to be very efficient with our time and weed out individuals who are just searching for free legal advice, or someone to tell them what they want to hear. An attorney primarily “sells” their time, experience and legal advice which we spent a tremendous amount of time, effort and money to gain. We need to know you are as serious as we are about your matter.
Is My Case a Good Fit For You?
When facing a legal dispute, it’s crucial to have the right lawyer by your side. Legal representation goes beyond legal expertise; it’s about finding a lawyer whose skills, approach, and values align with your needs and goals. In 10+ years of serving hundreds of clients in the Chicagoland area we have a pretty good idea of what kind of cases are a good fit for us and which ones are not.
We are not a good fit to work together if you’re looking for a “pitbull” “shark” “bulldog” or any other animal adjective used to describe aggressive attorneys. While this approach may get good results in other areas of law, we believe that when you deal with families and co-parents it is vital to think about the impact of our words and actions beyond the time the family is in court. We will passionately represent you and zealously advocate on your behalf, when necessary, to defend your rights and interests.
We are goal-oriented, problem solvers at heart. We want to be a partner in finding solutions for you. If you’re looking for a lawyer to carry out a legal strategy that you have designed, that is not a good fit for us.
If you need to regularly meet your attorney in person, at their office, we are not a good fit. We keep our overhead low by running a 100% virtual practice which allows us to charge low rates and flat fees. We believe in being responsive and accessible and you can schedule a call or Zoom with your attorney at any time. Because our fees are based on our results and not our efforts, we strategically tailor our efforts to meet your goals.
The best way to determine if we are a good fit to work together is to schedule a consultation and case evaluation.
How Do I Hire You?
Our process begins with an initial, paid consultation and case evaluation either by phone or Zoom in which we gather information about your unique circumstances and the reason for your call. Most importantly, we will gain an understanding of your goals and describe the services we can provide to help you reach them.
After the that initial consultation, if your case and goals align with our experience and philosophy, we will send you a proposed engagement agreement with a detailed scope of representation and proposed fee. We can answer any questions you may have about the proposed engagement agreement and finalize the terms of our representation. We require a signed engagement agreement, a completed intake form and payment before we can begin working on your case.
How Much Will It Cost?
First, some perspective: According to The Complete Guide to Protecting Your Financial Security When Getting a Divorce by Alan Feigenbaum and Heather Linton, parties will spend, on average, $20,000 to $25,000 for litigating a contested divorce. Not only can the majority of our clients not afford such legal fees, we believe that in most cases we can accomplish excellent results for a fraction of that amount through efficient representation focused on your goals.
The majority of our clients pay a flat fee of between $1,000 and $4,000 to initiate their case and a monthly flat fee of $450-$750 per month until the litigation is concluded.
How Long Will My Case Take?
Longer than you think! All joking aside, there are many factors that go into estimating how long a particular case will take to fully resolve. In general, litigation requires very specific procedures and certain steps must be followed in order to get results. This takes time and patience. In addition, there can be delays outside of our control. For example, the Judge may go on vacation, or just have a busy calendar and be unavailable to hear our case for several months. The opposing side may take a long time to review and complete documents, or new issues may arise that need to be dealt with before we can resolve the case. The Cook County, Illinois average is 3 years for a contested divorce. However, most of our cases take 12-24 months to resolve.
What if You Can’t Take My Case?
Occasionally we speak to clients that have legal problems outside of our practice areas or that are not a good fit for our firm. If we cannot help you, we can attempt to refer you to a capable attorney who would be a better fit for your situation. We are very proud of our referral network and professional contacts in a variety of practice areas in the Chicago area and beyond.
If you pay for a consultation and we immediately determine we are unable to help you, we will promptly refund your consultation fee.