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Seeing a lawyer – ACT
A lawyer can help you to:
- know your rights, obligations and responsibilities so that you can make informed decisions
- understand the legal process
- negotiate on your behalf or explain your options in dealing with the dispute. Mediation or counselling may assist
- formalise any agreement you make so that it is legally binding.
If going to court or urgent action is required, a lawyer can:
- prepare and file documents with the court
- negotiate with your ex-partner their lawyer
- represent you, if necessary, in court.
Meeting with your lawyer
Take a list of questions that you would like to ask the lawyer. At the appointment you can write down the answers. Take all your paperwork related to the issue including:
- court documents or orders
- your marriage certificate
- financial documents
- letters
- other papers you think are important.
A list of key dates will also be useful, such as the date of your marriage, the date of separation, birth dates of children and dates of any other major events.
Ask the lawyer to:
- explain your rights, responsibilities and obligations
- explain anything you do not understand
- explain any affidavits that have been prepared for you
- tell you about all communication they have with your ex-partner or their lawyer.
Complaints about lawyers
If you are not happy with your lawyer, talk to them about the problem. This may resolve the issue.
If you have a lawyer under a grant of legal assistance and you are not happy contact Legal Aid. You may be able to change your lawyer. If you are paying privately you can change your lawyer at any time. However, changing your lawyer is likely to cause delays and extra costs.
If you are unhappy with your lawyer and cannot resolve the issue, you can also contact the Law Society of the ACT or the Ombudsman (links below).
Conflicts of interest
If advice or representation was provided to your ex-partner a conflict of interest may arise. A lawyer can only give basic information, general advice and referral if they owe a duty of confidentiality to someone else. Make sure that your lawyer has not advised your ex-partner at any time. If the lawyer has advised your ex-partner, get a different lawyer.
When you make an appointment for free legal advice or apply for a grant of legal assistance, Legal Aid will check whether there is a conflict of interest. If there is, you can be referred to a private lawyer. In many cases Legal Aid ACT will pay for you to get some initial advice, or provide a grant of assistance to your private lawyer.
Remember that your lawyer can only act on the basis of your instructions. You can accept or reject your lawyer’s advice. If you feel unhappy with your lawyer’s advice you can see another lawyer.
Costs
Lawyers must tell you what the likely legal costs are at the start and at stages during the case. The Commonwealth Family Law Act 1975 has a costs scale that sets the amount a lawyer can charge. If the lawyer wants to charge you more, you must agree in writing to pay a higher fee.
Always make sure you ask the lawyer:
- if the first appointment is free or discounted, when you make the appointment
- what you will pay and when you will pay.
The lawyer may offer you a cost agreement. This is a letter setting out the expected cost of your case. The cost agreement will include ‘disbursements’. These are expenses your lawyer has to pay for you, such as court filing fees, barristers’ fees, title office fees or stamp duty.
Always ask your lawyer:
- to explain any cost agreement offered to you
- to give you a pamphlet that explains the rules about legal costs and applying for legal assistance (you can ask if your lawyer will help you apply for legal assistance).
You should take the cost agreement away to read carefully. You may want to get legal advice before signing the cost agreement.
Preparing for a meeting with your lawyer may reduce your legal costs in the future. Most lawyers charge for every phone call and meeting (by time), so unless it is really urgent save your questions for one call or meeting.
Disagreements about costs
If you think a bill for court costs is too high, you can ask the court to check (‘tax’) the bill.
You should do this within 28 days of receiving the account. Contact the court for more information. If the bill does not relate to court costs but to other legal work you can ask the Law Society of the ACT to investigate.
More information
Related publications
How to run your family law case