Want a bargain? Then expect shoddy goods

The price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com has
announced plans to add legal business to its online
portfolio, which in these internet-driven, credit crunch
days seems like a jolly good idea. Shopping around online
for the best deal on products and services is obviously the
way to go in the 21st century.

Or is it? While it's one thing to buy a cut price utility
service via the computer - utility companies provide more or
less the same service - it is quite another to buy the
expertise of a solicitor purely on the basis of how cheap
the bill is likely to be.

This is especially true of niche services such as
matrimonial and family law. Unlike some legal areas, divorce
and family matters are often extremely complicated and few
matrimonial cases require little more than rubber stamping.

So unless you choose your lawyer carefully, you risk coming
out of the process with a lower financial settlement and
inferior child arrangements than you might otherwise have
done.

What's more, divorce is probably the most traumatic of all
legal processes, so it is crucial to choose a lawyer who
will support you emotionally as well as fighting your corner
in the courts.

Such a lawyer is unlikely to be found at a general high
street practice, but rather within a specialist family law
firm, and - unsurprisingly - such a lawyer will charge more
than the high street practice.

There are many instances, in all kinds of consumer areas,
where bargain hunting doesn't pay off. If you pay peanuts,
expect to get a monkey!

If, on the other hand, you want a quality service - which is
particularly important in the delicate yet thorny area of
divorce and family matters - you have to be prepared to pay
for it. Cutting corners, cost wise, isn't the best way to
get the best settlement in the long term.

So while including legal services on Moneysupermarket.com
may have a - limited - use in relation to process-driven
matters, it's unlikely to be helpful when choosing a
solicitor in all but the most straightforward divorce. It is
also wise to bear in mind that because divorce issues are
often complicated, even if you do go for the "cheapest"
option, your bill at the end may bear little relation to the
quote you were given at the beginning. Dedicated family
lawyers know this and, as a result, will give you a
realistic idea of the costs involved.