Unbundled Legal Services FAQ
- What Is Unbundling?
- Why Unbundle?
- What Specific Tasks Can I Hire an Attorney to Perform?
- How Does Mediation Relate to Unbundling?
- What MUST I Understand about Unbundling?
Q. What Is Unbundling?
A. A lawsuit or divorce involves several discrete tasks. When these tasks are unbundled, the attorney agrees to perform and be responsible for certain tasks. You agree to perform and be responsible for the other tasks. This allocation of tasks is precisely defined before you officially hire the attorney.
Q. Why Unbundle? A. It increases your ability to get through the courthouse door. The court system is one of three equally important branches of our republic, along with the executive and legislative branches. Yet hiring an attorney to handle all aspects of a lawsuit or divorce can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Unbundling permits you to proceed while paying the attorney only for particular services.
For some, unbundling represents an opportunity to participate directly in what has often seemed off-limits to non-lawyers. By contrast, it allows you to have the assistance you decide you need instead of handling an entire court case by yourself.
Q. What Specific Tasks Can I Hire an Attorney to Perform?
A. Below is one method, developed by a long-time advocate of unbundling, to identify discrete tasks from which you and an attorney can decide what you will do, and what the attorney will do.
"Examples of discrete task representation include the following:
"Advice: If a client wants advice only, it can be purchased at an initial consultation or throughout the case as determined by the client with input from the lawyer. The lawyer and client collaborate in helping the client decide if and when further consultations may be needed.
"Research: If a client wants legal research, a personal or telephonic unbundled service provides this legal information. Research may take as little as fifteen minutes or as much as ten hours. The client is in charge of determining the scope of the job and who will do the work: the lawyer, client, or a negotiated collaborative effort between the two.
"Drafting: Lawyers ghostwrite letters and court pleadings for the client to transmit--or just review and comment on what the client has prepared.
"Negotiation: Lawyers teach clients how to negotiate with opposing parties, court clerks, and governmental agencies.
"Court Appearances: If a client desires, an unbundled lawyer can convert to full representation for court appearances, hearings, and mediation. Discrete tasks are agreed on between the lawyer and client."
Mosten, Forest S., Unbundle your practice, G.P./Solo (vol. 18:7 2001).
The agreement you sign will specifically identify precisely what the attorney will do, and what you remain responsible for. If you have any questions about this division of labor, ask before signing the agreement.
Q. How Does Unbundling Relate to Mediation? An attorney can assist you at several stages of mediation. Deciding how and when the attorney will help is another form of unbundling.
Before the mediation, an attorney can help you understand your legal rights, specific issues you should address during mediation, what you might expect in court if mediation does not produce an agreement, etc.
An attorney can also attend some or all mediation sessions with you. For example, you might decide to mediate a parenting agreement without your attorney present; but decide you want the attorney there when mediating a financial agreement. Attorneys at mediation usually function more as information sources than outright advocates of a client's position.
Whether the attorney attends some or all of the mediation sessions, the attorney can consult with you between sessions, helping you to identify options for resolving difficult issues.
Regardless of whether you received legal advice before or during mediation, you are strongly encouraged to have an attorney review your agreement before it goes to the judge. An attorney can also prepare the necessary final documents from the completed mediation agreement.
Q. What MUST I Understand about Unbundling?
A. When an attorney agrees to help you with certain discrete tasks, you remain responsible for everything else. Unless it is part of your agreement, the attorney will not receive copies of court papers or letters from the other side. The attorney will not monitor the progress of the lawsuit or divorce, talk to the other lawyer on your behalf, etc. You are responsible for everything that has not expressly agreed to do.
If you are not comfortable performing any particular tasks, you should discuss these with the attorney before entering into an unbundling agreement.