What
is Alabama Family Law Center?
Alabama Family Law Center is a private law firm. It
is neither a public legal aid agency nor a section or subcommittee of the
Alabama State Bar. Alabama Family Law Center charges for its services by
the hour. Alabama Family Law Center is owned and staffed by one attorney,
Lee
Borden, based in Birmingham, Alabama.
Click
here for more information about Lee. No representation is made that
the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality
of legal services performed by other lawyers. I developed Alabama Family
Law Center in the summer of 1995 out of my vision to help people
who are going through a divorce.
AFLC's
Purpose
There's no question that divorce
hurts. And nothing that AFLC does can keep your divorce from hurting.
But if you take control of your own divorce,
you will emerge from it with a better settlement, more money in your pocket,
a better relationship with your former spouse, and a better sense of your
own worth and value.
Alabama Family Law Center is designed
around that simple principle,
helping people take control, and stay in
control, of their divorce.
Charging
no retainer
AFLC doesn't charge an advance retainer for any work
related to divorce. Many persons going through divorce have reported that
they feel trapped because they've deposited a large retainer with a lawyer
and are afraid that if they change lawyers they won't get their retainer
back. You won't have that worry with AFLC.
I do ask, and expect, that clients pay me for work
done as that work is done. That means clients are more
in
control. And that's good. Click here
for what it costs to use AFLC.
Keeping
it simple
AFLC has only one staff member,
Lee
Borden. That means you know that you will always deal with the same
person when you call and that the person answering the phone is familiar
with your case. Please don't assume, however, that a small staff means
I won't have time for you. I operate on the forefront of technology, and
I have invested thousands of hours (and a great deal of money) in developing
systems that allow a single-person office to be fully responsive to your
needs.
My covenant is that I will get back to a client within
two business days if he or she calls for help. If I don't, let me know,
and I'll adjust your fee. See what I mean about keeping you in control?
Knowing
where I fit
Divorce is complicated, because it's really
three
divorces. There's the legal divorce, of course, where lawyers get involved.
And there's the social divorce - the adjustment of your friends and family
to your split. And then there's the emotional divorce - the adjustment
you and your spouse must make to living separately. The legal divorce is
just a small piece of the process, and it's smart to keep that in mind.
I'll point it out to you regularly.
Measuring
satisfaction constantly
Of course I work to keep my quality high. Any good professional
does. I take the next step. I measure
each client's comfort level with the service he or she receives from AFLC.
Obviously, that doesn't mean my quality is necessarily higher than that
of other lawyers. But it does mean I take seriously how my clients feel
about me when they finish working with me. I'm not aware of any other divorce
lawyer who measures client satisfaction systematically as I do.
I'm proud of the satisfaction rate among my clients,
about 97 percent. Compare this with the satisfaction rate of divorce lawyers
nationally, which is about 48%.
Finding
out more
There's a great deal of additional information
available by telephone on the Divorce Line.
I've recorded hours of specific information for people who are dealing
with divorce issues in Alabama and in the Birmingham area. It's a toll
call outside Birmingham, but the call is free in Birmingham.
Is
your office accessible?
Thanks to the gentle grace and guidance of my friend
Anne DelBene in the National Coalition Building
Institute, I've become much more attuned to the needs of physically
challenged clients. Thanks to the generosity of Karen White, my landlady,
my office is now fully accessible. Unfortunately, I can't say the same
for my restrooms. We're working on it.
What
it costs to use AFLC
I don't believe in retainers, and I never ask for one.
Instead I ask you to pay me at the end of each session for the time we
spend in that session.
Alabama Family Law Center charges based on how much
of my time is needed. I charge for my time at $200 per hour, whether I'm
serving as a mediator, a lawyer, or a coach. There's no additional charge
for setup or opening a file.
I offer
flat rates for
uncontested divorce. Lawyers often quote a fee for uncontested divorce that
does not include preparation of a property agreement (which is needed in
virtually every divorce). All my flat rates include the cost of preparing
an agreement and all other forms needed for the divorce.
I charge for
extra time in tenths of an hour. So if you
spend 33 minutes with me, that's 6/10 of an hour, and I'll ask you to pay
me $120.00 when we finish. I take cash, checks, Visa, and MasterCard.
I ask that you pay the legal fee for the uncontested
divorce at the initial session. I prefer that you pay the filing fee when you and your spouse have both signed the papers
and they're ready to file with the court.
People sometimes ask if I will set up a payment plan,
meaning can they get my services now and pay me later. The answer is no.
I'm not set up to take your money now and deliver services later (retainer
agreement), and neither am I set up to deliver you services now and get
paid later. I need you to pay me when I provide services. If you don't
want to do that, please don't use me. You'll make life uncomfortable for
both of us.
From time to time, someone who doesn't understand
my approach to saving money in divorce
asks if I offer an introductory free consultation. The answer to this one
is also no.
A lawyer who spends 20 or more hours of professional
time on an average case can justify an introductory consultation, because
there's an expectation of a large retainer if the lawyer "takes the case."
My whole business is set up to spend as little time as possible with (and
charge as little money as possible to) each client. I'm totally comfortable
spending 20 minutes with a client if that's all it takes to deliver the
information the client needs, and I have no interest in trying to sell
the client on using me more.
This means that, among other things, I spend far
less time with each individual client than the average divorce lawyer (on
average less than two hours per client). If I offered a free consultation, I
would be reducing my overall revenue dramatically. It wouldn't make sense.
For the arrangements and rates for
coaching
over the phone, click here.
How
to reach AFLC
My address is 3280 Morgan Drive #104, Birmingham, AL 35216.
You can get detailed directions if you'd
like.
My telephone number is (205) 979-6960. You can call 24 hours a day. And of course, you
can always reach me by e-mail.
Reasons
Not To Use AFLC
AFLC is narrowly focused on helping people to
stay
in control of their divorce. You shouldn't
use Alabama Family Law Center if
you're
working to save your marriage, if
you
and your spouse are at war, if
you
dislike using voicemail, if
you
need a payment plan or a free introductory consultation, or if
you
go for the "marble/mahogany" look.
