OUR PROCESS
What to Expect Working With Knauf Santos Law
This page explains what happens when you work with Knauf Santos Law, from your first conversation with our team through consultation, retention, communication, document sharing, and billing.
Read it straight through or jump to the part of the process you need.
YOUR CASE : GETTING STARTED
- Consultations
- Retaining Our Firm
- Communication & Case Updates
- Document Portal & Privacy
- How We Bill
- Hourly Rates & Payments
- Common Questions
If you’re new to working with us, the first step is getting to know you and your situation. A member of our Client Care Team will ask for some basic information about you, the other party, and the issues you’re dealing with so we can determine whether we can help.
We’ll then complete a conflict check. If there is no conflict and you want to move forward, we’ll schedule a one-hour consultation with one of our attorneys.
We primarily handle family law matters in King and Snohomish Counties, Washington, including (but not limited to):
- Divorce and legal separation
- Committed intimate relationships (unmarried couples)
- LGBTQ+ family law
- Pre‑ and post‑marital agreements
- Child support
- Mediation
- Parenting plan and child support modifications
- Relocation cases
- Domestic violence protection orders (DVPOs)
While we handle most family law issues, we do not take on adoptions, guardianships, or grandparents’ rights matters.
CONSULTATIONS
We meet potential new clients via Zoom or by phone, whichever is easier for you. Our consultations are one hour long and cost $250, payable in advance.
How it works
- You’ll receive a Pre‑Consultation Intake Form to give us key background details. This form contains three upload spots that allow you to send us any documents for review. If you need to send more than that, let us know and we can set up a secure upload folder.
- Please avoid sending attachments by regular email; this helps protect your privacy and security.
- We’ll send you a secure payment link. Once payment is made, you will receive an email confirmation.
- After payment is received, your consultation date and time will be confirmed by our Client Care Team via email.
- You’ll receive a confirmation email with your Zoom link. If you prefer a phone call, we’ll call the number you provide.
The consultation is your chance to explain what is happening, ask questions, review any documents you already have, and talk through your options with an attorney.
If you retain Knauf Santos Law, the $250 consultation fee will be credited on your bill. If you want additional consultation time before retaining the firm, we can schedule it at the attorney’s regular hourly rate. Additional consultation time is not eligible for that credit.
By the end of your consultation, our goal is that you:
- Have a clearer picture of your options under Washington law
- Understand what the next steps could look like in your case
- Know whether we are a good fit to work together and what that would involve
RETAINING OUR FIRM
If you decide to retain Knauf Santos Law after your consultation, we’ll send you a Fee Agreement that lists the hourly rates and the advance fee deposit required for your case. You’ll review and sign the agreement electronically, then submit payment through the secure link we provide.
Your retainer is structured in two parts:
- A working retainer that we draw from as we do work on your case
- A “security retainer” we call the evergreen, which is held in place to help cover your final invoice
If any portion of either retainer is left after your matter concludes and your final bill is paid, the remaining funds are refunded back to you.
Once we’ve received your signed Fee Agreement and payment, we’ll send you our KSL Take Away, a brief guide with best practices, tips, and expectations to help you get the most out of working with us. You’ll initial each page to confirm you’ve read it so we all start on the same page.
If someone else is helping pay your fees, we’ll also ask them to sign a Third‑Party Payer Agreement. This makes clear that you are our client, and that your conversations with us remain confidential, even if another person is contributing financially.
COMMUNICATION & CASE UPDATES
Most day-to-day communication with our office happens by email, with phone or Zoom used when a live conversation makes more sense.
- We aim to respond to client messages within a reasonable time during business hours, and we prioritize urgent matters and court deadlines.
- You will hear from us before and after key events in your case, such as court hearings, mediation sessions, or important filing deadlines.
Reading and responding to emails, reviewing documents you send, and calls with you are part of our legal work and will appear as line items on your bill. If you’re ever unsure whether something will be billable, you are welcome to ask.
DOCUMENT PORTAL & PRIVACY
We may ask for court orders, financial records, parenting schedules, or other documents related to your case. We use secure systems for exchanging and storing client documents rather than relying on ordinary email attachments.
HOW WE BILL
We bill in six-minute increments, or one-tenth of an hour. A task that takes less than six minutes is billed as six minutes; for example, a three-minute phone call is billed as 0.1 hour.
We send billing at the beginning of each month by email. That email will contain:
- An invoice detailing the work done on your case for the prior period
- How much you have in your IOLTA account (your “advanced fee” or “retainer”)
- Whether you may owe additional funds if your retainer was depleted for that period
If no work was done for the month, you will receive a Statement rather than an invoice. The Statement simply tells you what you have in retainer, or in some cases, what you might owe from prior billing periods.
You will receive these emails from “Clio” or “Clio.com,” which is our case management and billing system. It’s a good idea to check your junk or spam folders, as billing emails sometimes end up there. For more information about how to read your bill or statement, our billing page.
What billing can look like over time
- Early in your case: consultation, initial strategy, document review, and first filings
- As your case continues: communications, negotiation, court appearances, and ongoing work
- At the end of your case: a final invoice, application of any remaining retainer/evergreen, and a refund of any unused funds
HOURLY RATES
Our rates reflect the experience of the team members working on your case.
Attorney hourly rates
generally range between $395 and $650 per hour.
Paralegal and legal assistant hourly rates
generally range between $150 and $380 per hour.
We use Confido Legal (formerly Gravity Legal) as our payment processor. A card processing fee is assessed when a client uses a credit card. The 3% fee is not assessed if you use a debit card or an ACH bank transfer.
One‑hour consultations are billed at a reduced hourly rate of $250 and are not subject to the 3% card processing fee. Payment links will be sent to you via email as part of our correspondence.
Payment links are for client use only and cannot be used for settlement or judgements. If you are an opposing party looking to make settlement payment for money you may owe one of our clients, please contact our office for more information.
OTHER QUESTIONS
The amount you put into retainer depends on the type of case you have. Schedule a consultation with us and we can walk you through your case.
The fee agreement between us will require that you keep the retainer topped up at all times. Falling below the agreed upon retainer amount will be subject to us withdrawing from your case.
Once we have concluded your case, we can mail you a check for the remaining amount. When requesting funds back, please send us your new address, as you may have moved from the time you started with us and the time your case ends.