Many times, the party who will pay attorney's fees is determined by the court in a divorce or other family law case. However, at times attorney's fees are tried after the underlying case is tried. Sometimes, the court decides the issue on briefs submitted by the attorneys in the case and other times, the court hears argument of counsel and witness testimony before determining who pays attorney's fees. In most instances, courts do not order one party to pay all of the other party's attorney's fees; however, in some cases, a court may order one party to pay some of the fees charged by the opposing attorney. I have represented parties in attorney's fees hearings and submitted briefs outlining the statutes and equitable arguments that support an award of fees or that support a denial of attorney's fees and have been successful on both sides of the issue.

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