incident happen at a game, got sick, taken to the hospital, police is responsible, won't pay, lawyer say he tried, been 2 years, nothing, now he wants me to pay him.
2007-04-23 06:38:07 · 14 answers · asked by biggal.manning 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Did he do anything on your behalf?.......you should have been sent copies of each and every communication he had on your behalf with the police and witnesses etc.......if you have received nothing, you owe nothing. And you should as someone else said get a detailed statements of billable hours and what he did.......good luck, they can be very helpfull and also can be bottom feeders who take nothing but advantage of folks.....
2007-04-23 06:45:26 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Don't exactly understand how the police are responsible for you getting sick at a game but what the heck, we blame cops for everything else, why not? Anyhow, unless the attorney was representing you on a civil issue on a contingent basis, you contracted his services and there is no way he can guarantee a favorable outcome for you. If your contract with him was on a contingency basis, then he would only get paid if you recovered damages, usually the contingency fee is expressed as a percentage of any settlement. If you contracted a lawyer for civil litigation outside of a contingency agreement then you either made a serious error in judgment or you really thought it was a slam dunk win. Doesn't matter why, you are required to pay for services rendered in accordance with a fee agreement that you undoubtably had to sign. Lawyers are usually very good at covering their rears in issues like this.
2007-04-23 06:52:12 · answer #2 · answered by Jim 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I resent your remark! I've been in the legal services industry for 21 years and have never "done nothing" on a case. The case can never be guarantied to get the outcome you asked for. All we as legal professionals can do is try.
Attorneys and legal assistants bill their time in researching, writing documents, telephone calls, appearing in court, etc. You did not believe those servies were free when you hired the attorney, in fact, I almost guaranty that you SIGNED AN AGREEMENT which clearly outlined all of the things you would be charged for.
So quit whining and pay your attorney! Law school is not cheap!
2007-04-23 06:44:50 · answer #3 · answered by Starla_C 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Awww that sucks...I'm sorry:( You should have found a lawyer who works on contingency, meaning they only get paid if you get paid. But lawyers do put in a lot of effort and they do deserve to get paid even if they weren't successful at winning your case. It's just like if you have a heart attack and the doctor can't save you, the doctor still gets paid...
2007-04-23 06:46:12 · answer #4 · answered by camd42 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I guess if you do it yourself, you don't have to pay anybody, but do you know anything about legal practice? You can ask him to show all the legal papers on your case and tell him to explain his efforts to get you your money, maybe then you can tell him how much you are willing to pay. I heard you can make an agreement in the beginning, that if he succeed, he can get some percentage of the money, but if you don't have this agreement then you will be paying him his regular rate even if his attempt to get you your money failed.
2007-04-23 07:28:54 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You only have to pay your lawyer what you agreed to pay him. And his fee has to be reasonable according to professional rules. If you had a contingent fee arrangement with your lawyer, you only have to pay him out of any recovery. But if you had a different sort of arrangement, you probably have to pay him for the time he spent working for you. The same way you would have a pay a doctor who performed surgery, even if it was unsuccessful. Or any other professional who performs services for you, unless they guaranteed a certain result.
2007-04-23 06:44:38 · answer #6 · answered by rollo_tomassi423 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You pay a lawyer for the time he/she spends working on your case. Does your boss pay you based on how many units of something you produce, or on how much time you spend on your job?
2007-04-23 06:48:03 · answer #7 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they get paid by the hour or on salary - just like everyone else.
By the way, it's nearly impossible to get money out of police department. It's city.
2007-04-23 06:42:08 · answer #8 · answered by Jenn 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
You are paying for your lawyer's time that he put in to researching your case, interviews, documentation, etc...
Ask for an itemized copy of his billable hours before you pay.
2007-04-23 06:40:42 · answer #9 · answered by kja63 7 · 6⤊ 0⤋
not sure, but its part of the package, if the lawyer win or lose a case, he still have to get his payment, did you talked about it when you hired him?
i guess he should get paid for his time basicly, because he is not the decision maker.
2007-04-23 06:43:50 · answer #10 · answered by Default 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋