Are there bad lawyers out there? Yes, there are. My FWH and I are both lawyers, I handle the business end of his practice now. So, let me just say that there are also a lot of bad clients out there. Why do you need to pay your lawyer a retainer? Because lawyers have discovered that if they do not get the money up front, many clients won't pay. My FWH does not practice domestic law, but I have friends who have and it is a tough area to practice in--think of all the crazy WS's we hear about on SI all the time. Would you want to represent them? Also, there is a lot of emotion and turmoil to deal with. Not many lawyers want to handle that. The ones that do often ask for top-dollar to do it.
It has been my FWH's experience that clients lie about things, even when they have been told the importance of telling their lawyer the whole truth. This almost never works, the lies are invariably exposed and the case ends up badly--and whose fault is it? Yes, you guessed it, it is the lawyer's fault! You would be amazed at the number of times clients ask for advice, don't follow it, then come back in complaining because things went wrong. Apparently, that is also the lawyer's fault.
I do agree that every person who needs legal representation should be able to have it, especially when children are involved. The funding for legal aid services has been cut dramatically over the past 10 years or so, which is too bad. Few legal aid offices can take divorce cases anymore, unless, as someone already said, there is domestic violence involved.
