Law Office of Linda C. Garrett

Since 2003. I was one of the first attorneys in California to offer such services. And in case you’re wondering, I offer these services because I live in the real world. Most people who call me cannot afford to hire an attorney—and if they do have some funds, these funds are quickly exhausted after one or two hearings. ULS is a nice fit for those who need some legal help but cannot afford to hire an attorney and/or have very limited means to pay an attorney.

It is an “unbundling” of all the legal services an attorney can offer their family-law client. For example, legal coaching is a form of ULS, document review is a form of ULS, drafting of documents is a form of ULS, making a one-time court appearance (known as “limited scope representation”) is also a form of ULS, strategizing how to win your case is a form of ULS. This is but a very small sampling of the types of ULS I offer family-law litigants.

Spousal support, sometimes referred to as “alimony” is the money one spouse pays to another spouse for their maintenance and support. Ms. Garrett is available to help answer any questions you have in regards to your spousal support case and provide legal coaching in preparation of your case. To learn more about how Ms. Garrett can help, please visit our spousal support section on our website- https://www.lindacgarrettlaw.com/spousal-support.html

Hello & thank you for your question. Please give our office a call to discuss this matter further and we will be happy to assist you! (707) 430-0091

Yes, of course! The main reason to start with legal coaching is to save money! If it turns out your family-law case getting too complicated or overwhelming for you, we can then discuss me “stepping in” to your case as your attorney of record. The good news is that should you need to hire me as your attorney at a later date, you would have already saved thousands of dollars by doing lots of the initial work yourself.

Yes, but, they are very limited. They are limited to no more than 15 minutes and limited to answer one general question. You would be surprised to learn that the vast majority of folks who call family-law lawyers just call to get free legal advice with absolutely no desire whatsoever to hire the attorney. A general question is, for example: “How much does it cost to file a petition for dissolution of marriage in California?”, or “what’s the difference between ‘physical custody’ and “visitation.” These are general questions because the answer is the same 100% of the time. In comparison, legal advice is when a caller wants me to answer a question that is specific to their set of facts. For instance, “what are my chances of being awarded sole legal custody of my child?” or, “what are my chances of being awarded spousal support?” While I receive many calls from people asking for free “legal advice,” I do not and cannot offer such legal advice on a free consult.

Depends. If the parties agree on anything and everything and there absolutely no disputes—and they file all their paperwork in a timely fashion: 6 months. (In California, we have what is known as a “cooling off period” and that period is 6 months.) On the other end, if the parties disagree on one or many issues then the answer is . . . unknown. Contested cases can last, literally, for many years. On average, I would say a contested case with no children is about 18 months to 2 years and when children are involved—it could be many years, e.g. 3-5+

Really, too many to count. However, here are a few typical examples: 1) helping you make an informed decision of whether or not it’s worth going back to court to modify a court order (e.g. custody, visitation, support); 2) running a Dissomaster calculation to determine if the proposed amount proposed by DCSS is reasonable or unreasonable; 3) answering lots of “what if” type questions for your case; 4) explaining what to expect and how to prepare for your mandatory mediation if you have an upcoming hearing related to custody/visitation; 4) trial prep—teaching you the basics so that you can represent yourself at trial. Honestly, there are 100s of examples where coaching could help in your family-law case.

I would offer you paid coaching. With paid legal coaching, we would schedule an hour or two for your first coaching session so that I can understand your case and ensure you understand your paperwork (and the other party’s paperwork.) Second, I would answer all your questions related to the hearing; next, I would give you all the thing you need to know about the upcoming hearing and teach you how to prepare for your hearing. From my 17 years of providing coaching services, the main problem I see is that people don’t understand the basics . . . of the law, the forms, and procedures. From my years of experience, my coaching clients have done very well on their own in court—even when the other party was represented by counsel!

Since 2001

Limited scope representation (LSR) is as follows: hiring an attorney for a “limited” purpose, e.g. one or two legal issues. For example, you have a divorce case. The property issues are not disputed, but the custody issues are. In this example, you could represent yourself (be your own attorney) on the property issues, but hire me as “limited scope” counsel on the custody issues (limited scope). You would only be incurring legal fees on this one issue and not all your legal issues. The main benefit of LSR: cost savings in the form of less legal fees. As an another example you are can hire me for just one hearing—even if there will be many hearings on one issue (custody). For instance, many of my clients will represent themselves for the first few hearings on a custody case (receiving coaching by me), but should it end of going to a trial, they may hire me for the trial—and only the trial.

First, coaching is just one of many types of legal services I offer under the “umbrella” of unbundled legal services. One of the most common ULS is legal coaching. Some of the benefits include: 1) savings on your legal fees by about 50-90%!. As your legal coach, I am teaching you how to represent yourself in your family-law case. Most of the money spent on attorneys fees is for us to do simple things, e.g. waiting around in the courtroom, sitting at a copier making lots of copies, etc. etc.; 2) having a very experienced family-law attorney answering any type of question you have about your case. Literally—any type of question, e.g. law, procedures, forms, what-if type questions, analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of your case as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the other party’s case. If you are not sure if this is right for you, start with a free consult!

Yes, I offer legal coaching. It is one of many services I offer under what is known as “unbundled legal services."

Ms. Garrett is an incredible lawyer. Very nice, attentive and responsive.