Thanks, I appreciate the sanity check. If this sort of thing were standard practice, then I'd conclude there are some pretty bad economic incentives for attorneys: scheduling conflicts wouldn't be bad but instead would provide new income opportunities.
My divorce attorney recently filed paperwork for a hearing. When the court set a date, he informed me that he wasn't available that date and that he would ask the court for a different date. That was fine with me and my spouse.
I recently got the bill for this change of dates: about $170...