Chamber to recommend lawyers’ fees for divorce

The Chamber of Advocates will soon be setting out how much lawyers should charge clients for divorce cases. In the absence of a specific guideline, it is currently recommending that they should charge the same fees as they do for separations. According to the Chamber’s guidelines issued in 2008, lawyers should charge €580 for separation cases of married persons, irrespective of the number of declarations involved, and €930 in connection with consensual separation. Although the guidelines are not set in stone and lawyers can charge more or less if they agree beforehand with the parties involved, overcharged clients can complain to the Chamber or to the Commissioner for the Administration of Justice to force lawyers to lower the charge. A few weeks ago it was revealed that the former head of the pro-divorce movement, Deborah Schembri, was charging €1,300 for her services in divorce cases. She, however, defended her fees, stating that there are no guidelines when it comes to divorce and that the fees also included court and other administrative charges. According to information published by the Justice Ministry, Dr Schembri, now a Labour election candidate, filed the lion’s share of...