Frequently Asked Questions

Call us at 843-769-0311, to talk to our receptionist, who will set you up with an initial appointment. You can also email one of us to have our receptionist contact you.

We charge our hourly rate for initial consultations. If you meet with either of our partners, Natalie Parker Bluestein or Jane Nussbaum Douglas, you will be charged $350 an hour. If you meet with our associate, Shannon Byrdic Anderson, you will be charged $200 an hour. It is often possible to complete your consultation in one hour.

Absolutely. We will not disclose the information you give us to anyone without your knowledge and consent.

Once you have had a formal meeting with an attorney in our office, we will be conflicted out of talking to or meeting with your opposing party. We do not let the conflicted party know that we have met with you.

Unless you are coming in for information only, we will give you a client information packet during your initial consultation which you can complete and return if and when you want. If you decide to take action or go forward more than a year after your initial consultation, you will need to schedule another consultation with us.

Bluestein & Douglas, L.L.C., does not become your attorney until and unless you sign a retainer agreement and pay your complete retainer fee. You are under no obligation after your initial consultation, nor is Bluestein & Douglas, L.L.C., under any obligation to you. (We will, not, however, meet with or talk to your opposing party.)

Unless you have made special arrangements with the attorney during your initial consultation for follow-up questions by email or telephone, you will need to schedule another meeting, and pay our hourly rate, to have your questions answered.

Yes. You can schedule additional appointments with the attorney as often as you need.

The attorney will usually quote you a retainer amount at the time of your initial consultation. When paid, this retainer goes into our escrow account, to be used only when we work on your case. We will bill against your retainer, and take money out of our escrow account to pay ourselves on a monthly basis. We will also send you monthly activity and billing statements.

Our partners, Natalie Parker Bluestein and Jane Nussbaum Douglas, charge $300 per hour. Our associates, Bess Tunstall and Shannon Byrdic Anderson, charge $175 per hour. We charge $125 per hour for all other office staff.

When we work on your case, the smallest increment of time charged is one quarter of an hour, or 15 minutes. Our attorneys and office staff bill for all of the time they spend on your case. This includes, but is not limited to, client meetings, all communications (telephone calls, text messages, emails and letters) to you, all communications with opposing or associated counsel, all communications with the court, and all communications with potential witnesses and experts. We also bill for drafting pleadings and letters, reviewing and revising pleadings and letters, legal research, and fact research, file organization, document review, and discovery. We also charge a $50 administrative fee when we open your file.

The Family Court’s current filing fees are $150 for initial pleadings and $25 for motions and most rules to show cause. You are responsible for these costs, and usually for the cost of a process server to serve your opposing party. You are responsible for the costs of any experts, therapists, mediators, arbitrators, and other litigation costs.

You will not be billed for routine copying and for routine postage. However, if volume copying needs to be done, we send the documents out to a professional copying company, for which you will pay. You will be billed for the cost of certified mail, overnight express deliveries, and process servers.

Our retainer agreement requires you to replenish your retainer when the amount in our escrow account drops below $1000.

We will reimburse all money paid by you which remains in our escrow account at the conclusion of your case.

We often include a request for attorney’s fees and costs in your pleadings, and the Family Court may order that these payments be made. However, you remain personally responsible for your own attorney’s fees, even if a court order requiring payment by another party is in effect. You will be reimbursed by our office for any fees you have paid which are subsequently paid pursuant to a court order.

Our retainer agreement specifically states that you are welcome to get a second opinion from another attorney during your case, without notification to or permission from us.

You should feel free to question your bill. Our office will not charge for time we spend answering your billing questions.

The attorney-client relationship is incredibly important to both you and us. If either you or our attorney comes to believe that this relationship is not working, we are both free to terminate representation. If the case is pending and our attorney has appeared as attorney of record in your case, a court order is necessary to relieve us as counsel. You will be reimbursed any money left in your escrow account after we stop work on your case. Likewise, you will owe us for any outstanding balance due at the end of your attorney-client relationship.

Our retainer agreement provides that fee disputes are submitted to the Resolution of Fee Disputes Board of the South Carolina Bar Association.