This article about companies that tried to save money using supposed AI and are now spending even more to fix mistakes reminds me of the nice revenue stream I have developed fixing mistakes in cheap and/or do-it-yourself divorces.

A couple decide to get divorced, and don’t want to hire an attorney. Presumably, they also do their own electrical, plumbing, taxes, dental work, and surgery. Our Heroes, usually (and statistically) living somewhere in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, see a billboard or other advertisement and spend their $179 or $249 or whatever too-low-to-be-true fee being charged for a no-fault divorce, and they file.

What makes this scheme work for the firms that do it is that filing fees vary across the state, county by county. Some counties charge significant filing fees to support the robust court services they offer for divorcing parties. Other counties - a handful in particular - have cornered the market on cheap divorces by charging very low filing fees and making up for it in volume. These counties also happen to be sparsely populated, rurally situated, and at least five hours from where our statistically likely Heroes live.

Invariably, something Goes Wrong and the parties find themselves needing to go to court. Where? That far-off small courthouse with one judge and a literal hitching post in the parking lot. They call the firm they “hired” to do their divorce and learn that the representation was limited to preparing the documents, which the parties filed as pro se litigants, and they have to find new counsel because the divorce mill attorney isn’t about to drive to the hinterlands to go to court!

That’s where I come in.

My office is within easy driving distance from the Divorce Capital of Pennsylvania: Cameron County. There aren’t many other attorneys this close who are 1) willing to go there, 2) willing to take these cases, and 3) good at getting results. So, a couple of times per year, I get a call from some unfortunate soul who tried to save a buck. I figure out what went wrong, quote a fee, and then we try to fix it as best we can. Sometimes we can, sometimes we can’t.