Unbundled Legal Services: As-needed legal help for court proceedings.  Many people who find themselves involved in family legal disputes do not want, or cannot afford, full-blown legal representation. In family cases in particular, lower to middle income individuals often find themselves simply priced out of the courthouse. Even relatively simple cases can require initial attorney fee retainers of $5,000 - $10,000 and often much more. As such cases have become more and more prevalent, and lawyers become more and more expensive, people have increasingly turned to filing their own paperwork in court. This in turn has led the courts to become frustrated in dealing with lay litigants (called ‘pro se” or “pro per” parties) who often file papers in court without following or understanding basic court rules and procedures. Self-Help Centers - A quite recent trend in U. S. court systems has been the creation of “self-help centers”, wherein the courts themselves have created special offices to help unrepresented parties. Such offices have created forms to be used in the most common situations, along with instructions on how to follow basic rules of civil procedure. Alaska has such a self help center, whose forms can be found in most of our courthouses, and are also available online through the court system website, at http://www.courts.alaska.gov/selfhelp.htm. There is even a national link to all such offices in the U. S., located at: http://www.ncsconline.org/wc/courtopics/StateLinks.asp?id=108&topic=ProSe The self-help centers sometimes provide classes to explain the rules of court, and some even offer individual assistance on how to fill out the appropriate forms. What they cannot do, however, is provide direct legal advice. That is where “unbundled legal services” enter into the picture. Unbundled Legal Services - Until recent years, many attorneys considered it unethical to assist someone in court without formally representing them. This situation has now changed 100%, as Bar Associations, and the court systems themselves have actually solicited and encouraged attorneys to provide such “unbundled legal services” to pro se litigants. Drew H. Peterson, Attorney, has been providing unbundled legal services to clients for many years, and enjoys such work as a part of his commitment to working with individuals of all incomes and backgrounds in family matters. Such unbundled legal services can consist of as little as a five minute phone call to answer a brief question, or can involve hiring the firm as behind-the-scenes advisers throughout the prosecution of a legal case or motion (usually for a flat fee of $500). When providing unbundled legal services we do not formally appear on your behalf in court proceedings, but we can help you with almost any other task necessary to prosecute your case, including: * Explaining rules and procedures. * Advising you of effective strategies for success. * Directing you to the proper forms to fill out * Reviewing documents received, and advising you of their meaning. And required responses. * Reviewing documents to be filed, and making suggestions for improvement * And much much more. Unbundled legal services are not free, and are charged a normal billable rates, which should be understood and explained in advance. Such legal services are normally billed and paid for as they occur, by means of credit or debit card payments made in person or by phone. Reduced fees can be arranged in some cases. Ask about our sliding fee scales if fees impose a hardship. |
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Drew H. Peterson Law Firm - Providing Quality Legal Services in Anchorage, Alaska since the 1980s. >
Unbundled Legal Services |