Lawyers in urban areas generally charge more than lawyers in rural areas. The rates of suburban lawyers often are in between. Most family lawyers charge on an hourly basis. Their fees will be equal to the total of the hours spent on the case times the lawyer's hourly rate. Different lawyers within a firm may have different hourly rates.
Some lawyers charge different rates for appearing in court and for working in their offices.
A lawyer's time that is billed to a client is not just the time the lawyer spends with the client or in court. Lawyers may spend a significant amount of time in their offices reviewing documents, conducting research, planning strategy, talking to witnesses, talking to the opposing counsel, drafting letters, and preparing papers for filing in court. If other lawyers in the office or paralegals spend time on the case, their time usually will be billed too. A paralegal is a person with specialized legal training who, although not a lawyer, assists the lawyer with legal tasks. Under a lawyer's supervision, a paralegal may do many of the same things a lawyer does, but, in most states, a paralegal may not represent a client in court.