Attorney fees can build up in a long case, and if your finances suddenly change — say, your job cuts your hours or furloughs you indefinitely — those attorney's fees can start looking scary. If you think you are going to have trouble paying your attorney for a case they're currently working on, you need to take action and not ignore things, hoping for the best.
Notify Your Lawyer Immediately of Job Changes and Other Financial Problems
If you can't imagine not telling your attorney immediately, good, you're doing the right thing. But there are people who hide the fact that they suddenly can't pay until the bill arrives, and that doesn't help. Once you sense an issue forming, tell the attorney and ask what can be done so that the attorney can continue working on your case and be paid accordingly, and so that you have a much saner payment schedule.
Offer a Payment Plan
A payment plan is an obvious option. If the attorney doesn't offer one to you, see if you can offer one to the attorney. Remind them of expected financial awards from the case, too, as those would certainly help you pay the lawyer. If you're in a state where the loser has to pay the winner's legal fees, that could take care of the issue nicely, assuming you have a winning case.
If the Lawyer Will Not Accept a Plan, Let the Court Know
Your lawyer will hopefully allow you to arrange a payment plan, but in case they don't, they can stop working on your case. They are not obliged to continue if you can't pay and if they are an attorney you hired (as opposed to one the court-appointed). If you are faced with your attorney dropping your case, let the court know and ask about lower-cost legal services or court-appointed lawyers.
One thing to note is that, if the attorney won't continue on your case unless you pay, it's not personal. It takes time to research and work on a case, and it's not just the attorney doing the work. This is a matter of being able to pay staff, too. But as scary as this sounds, there are plenty of attorneys who understand that sometimes you are simply blindsided by an economic change that you had nothing to do with. Working out a payment plan is often in the attorney's interests, especially if there's a good chance of the case ending up in a hefty financial award for you.
If something happens in the middle of a case that makes your finances very complicated and not able to handle legal fees, tell your attorney immediately. Do not assume the worst because you are not the first person this has happened to, and attorneys have ways of helping clients who suddenly need to deal with financial issues.
