One call that's all.....REALLY
2007-03-17 08:03:13 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
You probably signed a fee agreement of some kind which specified that if the relationship terminates, the attorney is due hourly fees for the time spent on your case. If you did not sign an agreement, you will probably receive a bill anyway. Check for accuracy, and if you have a dispute, call the attorney or write a letter. If no resolution, contact the State Bar Association.
2007-03-25 07:41:30 · answer #1 · answered by rose_50613 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since you say your lawyer "no longer" wants to represent you, anything I say below is based on the assumption that he/she definitely has an agreement with you to represent you.
Yes. You owe him for something called "disbursements". This includes any photocopies, telephone calls, court filing fees, etc. .... essentially anything BUT his hourly / flat fee he generally charges for a case like yours. You should not be charged for his time, in other words.
In Canada, we can go to the court registrar and basically query any lawyer's bill. We pay $25 for the registrar to review the bill. This means that the lawyer has to detail every item on a special document called a Bill of Costs (nothing to do with your invoice). It's a very complicated and expensive process for your lawyer, but it prevents most lawyers from bilking the public. They just don't want to go through the time and expense to provide an itemized statement for the Registrar, so they usually lower their bill to you significantly to get you to drop the Registrar's review of their billing practises. Anyway, it's worth the trouble to contact your local courthouse and / or Law Society to ask if you have a similar system where you live. Hope this helps.
2007-03-17 08:37:51 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Probably not. If he is the one terminating the attorney client relationship and he agreed to take your case as a contingency, then you probably don't legally owe anything.
2007-03-24 20:03:20 · answer #3 · answered by akbar hakimbisatrkhandeep patel 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends on what the contigency contract said.
It also depends on how many hours the attorney spent on the case, based on that one call. If you told him to go ahead, and he spent 100 hours on research and legal filings, then it's a lot more than just "one call".
Generally, attorneys who are let go can only collect for what they have already done. So, if there was nothing done behind the scenes, then at worst you would only owe for however long he spent on the phone with you.
2007-03-17 08:07:38 · answer #4 · answered by coragryph 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
If they took the case contingent on the results then no, especially if they are ending the relationship.
2007-03-17 08:07:26 · answer #5 · answered by meathookcook 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No
2007-03-17 08:07:46 · answer #6 · answered by mark 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋