i went and retained a divorce lawyer 12/14/06. my non-refundable flat fee retainer was $5k. after the meeting, she was to follow up with an email list of the financial items that i need to forward to her. she was to review this prior to my next meeting.
her fee agreement says: ' this means that even if you reconcile and instruct ... not to file ... you do not get a refund of the retainer paid because it is non-refundable.'
how can i get may retainer back as it's almost been a month (today is 1/11/07) and she has not followed up. i can follow up with her, but she would charge me to read my email - an email that i shouldn't even have to send as I AM THE CLIENT! i would much prefer someone with professional courtesy and follow up.
if she can't follow up on my first step, what happens when assets are divided? will she be laxed on that too?
please send advice here! thanks.
2007-01-10 23:08:15 · 4 answers · asked by m 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
i'm in california by the way.
2007-01-10 23:08:40 · update #1
You must follow up with her and give her a chance to respond. She has a duty of care to you, so the money you paid her is refundable to the extent it has not been used to carry out work in good faith.
Please give her a chance to put this right. Explain your concerns to her calmly. If she cannot do the work you have asked her to do, she should be prepared to refund your money less any costs expended in good faith. Your alternative is to ask another attorney to sue a fellow attorney. Try to stay out of that if you can.
2007-01-10 23:20:45 · answer #1 · answered by skip 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure you are using the terminology correctly. When a lawyer agrees to take a case for a "flat fee" that means you pay one amount (in your case $5000) and that is all the attorney will get paid whether she works one hour on your case or one thousand hours on your case. If she resolves your case in one hour - the fee is non-refundable. Therefore, you shouldn't worry about how many emails you send her because she will not be charging you per email.
A retainer is usually a deposit, that the attorney then bills off of. As you deplete the retainer, the attorney will bill you for how much is spent and you send in a check for that amount so the retainer always stays at the same amount (for you $5000). Then when the case is over, the attorney sends you back whatever is left over.
I don't know what a non-refundable flat fee retainer is because that is a combination of two different things. Read your retainer agreement or call her up and ask her to explain (she should not charge you for explaining the billing to you). If you are not getting answers or if you do not think she is diligently pursuing your case you should speak with her first and give her a chance to do better. If she doesn't, call the state bar association and file a grievance - you do not need an attorney to help you do this. Make sure you act before your case is prejudiced by her inaction. Good luck to you.
2007-01-11 08:49:13 · answer #2 · answered by Andy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That $5,000 will be used for her first $5,000 worth of work on your case, so you shouldn't be "charged" anything additionall the .1 hour that it will take for her to read your e-mail will just be deducted from that $5,000. And just giving her an e-mail to see the status is just a mere courtesy. Perhaps the terms got lost in the mail; perhaps she thought her associate or secretary or paralegal would send it and it didn't get done. Give her a few chances first.
But if she really doesn't do anything, she herself is in breach of her contract with you, and may be guilty of malpractice. Then you have to find another lawyer and have that lawyer demand the $5,000 back (after you ask her yourself for the money back, not because you chose not to file, but you believe that she is in violation of her contract with you...)
2007-01-11 08:23:30 · answer #3 · answered by Perdendosi 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
*** spui tu ok pentru k asa e:)):))
2007-01-11 07:17:29 · answer #4 · answered by mafia_si_samy 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋