Answer:
It depends. However, few civil cases in Maryland circuit courts (at least in the family courts) conclude quickly. This is also generally true in other jurisdictions, although a lot depends on whether the state has true no-fault divorce or not.
A large percentage of cases filed by litigants without a lawyer take longer. It's a fact. When you don't understand the language or the litigation process, you stand a good chance of losing some or all of a contested case. And you probably won't even know it has happened.
On the other hand, if you have hired a costly attorney from a large firm, you may find the process takes about as long as it does if you tried to do it on your own. Why? Because quality is not usually measured by cost and because when you cost more, you have an incentive to charge more. For example, when you spend hours sending letters and emails back and forth (like I used to do a lot when I had less experience) you end up charging too much, almost every time. Especially when your hourly rate
Maryland has an internal procedural requirement that family cases are supposed to finish within one year from the date they are filed. Having a standard like this has been helpful in some counties, where divorce and custody cases could drag on for years. But it has a downside too. There really are some cases that can't and shouldn't be forced into the box of the one-year requirement.
The bottom line really is this: the more you work on settling your case out of court, by agreement, the faster your case will usually take from start to finish!
