Clear, honest and direct counsel coupled with strong advocacy in court, or in a collaborative law negotiation, to protect your interests and maximize the outcome. When choosing an attorney to advise and represent you, consider three things:

1. 1) Experience and Knowledge
2. 2) Availability and Attention to your case
3. 3) Fees and Costs

Experience and Knowledge

Peg Schweitzer has been practicing law for 19 years, first civil litigation involving real estate, property law and then probate administration before beginning to consult to family law firms on complexities in divorce and other family law matters. Peg then formed her own law firm litigating complex family law cases with a the attention to litigation presentation formed form her civil litigation experience. She was nominated and confirmed as a Fellow of the Michigan Bar Foundation, an honor held by less than 4% of the bar, recognized for professional excellence and contribution to the community. She added Collaborative Law training and service to her practice, to give her clients both the privacy and control over the process that litigation in the courts cannot provide. Peg keeps up to date on the ever-changing family law statues, rules and standards so that her clients received the most professional and current service available.

Availability and Attention to Your Case

Every client needs to know that they can reach their lawyer and talk directly with their lawyer- the essence of personal service. Your lawyer should be available to you and should have a small enough caseload that his schedule does not become the greatest delay in your case. Your lawyer should take the time to know the important details of your case, as well as the status of your case in court and with the opposing party, at all times. Only a lawyer who takes the time and energy to know you and your case will be able to make a clear, persuasive and accurate presentation in court, as well as to counter and correct any misrepresentations or errors by the other side. Our firm’s policy is to never have more than ten active cases at any time, and fewer if our cases are complex, because we believe that we should be the experts in your case every time we go to court, enter a negotiation or respond to pleadings.

Fees and Costs

The firm keeps personal service at the forefront even in our billing structure. By billing by service rendered instead of billing according who has done the work, you pay a paralegal rate or secretarial rate even when your lawyer is personally doing the work. Only work that must be performed by an attorney, such as court appearances or conducting depositions, is billed at the attorney rate. We also use an evergreen retainer policy to keep rates low for every one of our clients. Each client pays a reasonable initial retainer and then replenishes his or her retainer as needed throughout your case. This keeps your billable rates low because we do not have to go into the collection business, and you are not paying inflated rates to compensate the firm for losses from non-paying clients. Finally, we can take fewer cases because we do not have to take more carry cases to compensate for non-paying cases. The result is fair fees and rates, personalized service and direct contact and involvement with your lawyer- which translates into intimate understanding of your case and more credible and persuasive presentation in court.