CFL is far cheaper than a court proceeding that goes all the way to a trial. Although many are settled before trial, the legal fees for each party in a contested court case are usually around $15,000.00 to $20,000.00. It is also not uncommon for fees to be as high at $50,000.00; I know of cases where they have even been much greater. Some people think that mediation is cheaper than collaborative law because the parties share the cost of the mediator as opposed to each paying for their own collaborative lawyer only. This is often true. However, some people require that their lawyers be quite involved while they go through mediation, providing legal advice and perhaps attending the mediation sessions. If that happens, mediation may even be more expensive than CFL... read more
