Can you fight an excessive Attorney bill?

[imported_Rat]

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: Rat

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: Rat
Why is everyone against lawyers? They're just trying to make a living too. It's troublesome clients that give them a bad name.

i don't think everyone is "against lawyers" only the crooked ones.

And what "crooked" activity has taken place that you abhor so much?

go back and read this thread.

So you can't make an argument yourself, yet crucify your lawyer who was decent enough to do it for you. Cute.

 

[GasX]

Originally posted by: pulse8
So she paid $1200 to get the same severance as she would've gotten if she had just signed it?

It doesn't sound like she has bad luck, it sounds like she's just really naive.

Beyond the money, a severance agreement sets out all sorts of things like confidentiality, non-compete, etc. These things become as if not more important than the money the older you get.

 

[spikespiegal]

What the hell was she supposed to do? Let me repeat: the HR dept refused to pay her a dime until she had an attorney sign off on it. So, she got an attorney who then spent 5-6 hours grammar checking a 1 1/2 page severance letter.

Granted, the Attorney was a creep given they likely had their legal assistant do most of the work.

You'd think lawyers would be smart enough to stick to screwing people they know have *some* money in the first place - geesh. :|

 

[FoBoT]

i recommend you give her $600 since you gave her a bad tip

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: Rat

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: Rat

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: Rat
Why is everyone against lawyers? They're just trying to make a living too. It's troublesome clients that give them a bad name.

i don't think everyone is "against lawyers" only the crooked ones.

And what "crooked" activity has taken place that you abhor so much?

go back and read this thread.

So you can't make an argument yourself, yet crucify your lawyer who was decent enough to do it for you. Cute.

you don't even know WHY i consulted with said lawyer, so don't jump to conclusions.
my issue was that he charged me another 50 bucks 2 months are the fact for "phone time". i had received a bill and paid it in full promptly only to have this stealth charge show up in my mailbox 60 days later.

i didn't "cruxify" the lawyer for what he did for me legally or the fee he charged, but for his late bullsh#t charge.

 

[kumanchu]

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: Rat

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: Rat

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: Rat
Why is everyone against lawyers? They're just trying to make a living too. It's troublesome clients that give them a bad name.

i don't think everyone is "against lawyers" only the crooked ones.

And what "crooked" activity has taken place that you abhor so much?

go back and read this thread.

So you can't make an argument yourself, yet crucify your lawyer who was decent enough to do it for you. Cute.

you don't even know WHY i consulted with said lawyer, so don't jump to conclusions.
my issue was that he charged me another 50 bucks 2 months are the fact for "phone time". i had received a bill and paid it in full promptly only to have this stealth charge show up in my mailbox 60 days later.

i didn't "cruxify" the lawyer for what he did for me legally or the fee he charged, but for his late bullsh#t charge.

maybe you should be pissed at the clerk that didn't fill out the billing correctly?

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: kumanchu

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: Rat

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: Rat

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: Rat
Why is everyone against lawyers? They're just trying to make a living too. It's troublesome clients that give them a bad name.

i don't think everyone is "against lawyers" only the crooked ones.

And what "crooked" activity has taken place that you abhor so much?

go back and read this thread.

So you can't make an argument yourself, yet crucify your lawyer who was decent enough to do it for you. Cute.

you don't even know WHY i consulted with said lawyer, so don't jump to conclusions.
my issue was that he charged me another 50 bucks 2 months are the fact for "phone time". i had received a bill and paid it in full promptly only to have this stealth charge show up in my mailbox 60 days later.

i didn't "cruxify" the lawyer for what he did for me legally or the fee he charged, but for his late bullsh#t charge.

maybe you should be pissed at the clerk that didn't fill out the billing correctly?

that's relative now isn't it? as far as being pissed, i guess i wasn't pissed off enough to even contact the clerk or the lawyer. i just took it on the chin and paid up.

 

[Mackie2k]

#1. Why would a company require you to have a lawyer look over the agreement? That's not legal, no one can force you to have legal counsil.

#2. $4000 for six weeks severance? So your sister makes about $16 an hour? (gross before taxes) or $20 with taxes taken out......why in Gods name would a company make her get an attorney for only $4000. I'd tell them to add money into my severance to pay for the lawyer.

Originally posted by: spikespiegal
What the hell was she supposed to do? Let me repeat: the HR dept refused to pay her a dime until she had an attorney sign off on it. So, she got an attorney who then spent 5-6 hours grammar checking a 1 1/2 page severance letter.

Granted, the Attorney was a creep given they likely had their legal assistant do most of the work.

You'd think lawyers would be smart enough to stick to screwing people they know have *some* money in the first place - geesh. :|

 

[mattpegher]

There seriously needs to be some standardization with legal fees. If we decided that our ER was strictly cash business only the lawyers would be on my ass like flies on sh t and chargin $500/hour. That said she should have asked for the fee up front.

 

[bleeb]

hahah PWNED... the only other way is to get a lawyer to fight the first lawyer, which in turn would probably cost more than the severance package, plus the first lawyer fee.

Moral of the story is:

Become a lawyer or a doctor or a L.A. Laker.

 

[Jeeebus]

I find it a little disturbing that none of you who seemingly want to crucify this lawyer seem interested in any of the relative factors that led to this supposedly exorbitant bill. I'm not defending a fellow lawyer here, because I can no more defend him than you can all crucify him without any relevant facts presented here. All we know is someone paid $1200 and received $4000. How the hell does that make the attorney at fault?

As was already mentioned, I find it hard to believe this woman did not sign an engagement letter of some sort setting out the lawyer's billing rates and estimated cost of service. Nobody 'hires' a lawyer without discussing what said lawyer charges.

Yes, maybe this guy was a crook, but unless you're getting your info from the Magic 8 Ball, I don't see how the accusation can be lobbed out there with what we actually know about this transaction.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: Rat
Why is everyone against lawyers? They're just trying to make a living too. It's troublesome clients that give them a bad name.

i don't think everyone is "against lawyers" only the crooked ones.

...which are most of them

The reason why I don't like lawyers in general is twofold. First, I believe that the justice system should be simple and accessible enough for a person to defend themselves, without knowing a crapload of legalese, loopholes, precedents, etc. Second, I have always been a "spirit of the law" person, which is the exact opposite of every lawyer in existence. They live and die by technicalities.

 

[Hammer]

did the lawyer get her anything extra or did she still get the same amount regardless?

 

[Marinski]

I paid 500 bucks for a lawyer on a traffic charge. But, some that i talked too wanted 600-700. If you need a lawyer you gotta bite the bullet.

 

[Ime]

Ah, the old "Every lawyer is crooked except my lawyer, and he/she becomes crooked too the second they charge me anything."

Do you goto a doctor and just have them perform a function for you without asking up front what they charge? My guess is: yes.

I always ask ahead of time what things cost. The only exception to that is a visit the ER, when you are not awake in the ER it's hard to ask them how much things cost.

Think of this as a life lesson, you deal with a lawyer, get a price quote in writing.

Not all lawyers are scum. My wife and I went to a family law attorney for something simple, and he talked to us pro-bono. That was even after I told him I'd be willing to compensate him for his time.

 

[kumanchu]

Originally posted by: Jeeebus
I find it a little disturbing that none of you who seemingly want to crucify this lawyer seem interested in any of the relative factors that led to this supposedly exorbitant bill. I'm not defending a fellow lawyer here, because I can no more defend him than you can all crucify him without any relevant facts presented here. All we know is someone paid $1200 and received $4000. How the hell does that make the attorney at fault?

As was already mentioned, I find it hard to believe this woman did not sign an engagement letter of some sort setting out the lawyer's billing rates and estimated cost of service. Nobody 'hires' a lawyer without discussing what said lawyer charges.

Yes, maybe this guy was a crook, but unless you're getting your info from the Magic 8 Ball, I don't see how the accusation can be lobbed out there with what we actually know about this transaction.

i think more than being angry with lawyers themselves, people are unhappy about having to pay the costs associated with legal work. i think that a lot of people feel that they could do the work themselves, or that the costs don't accurately reflect the type of work that is done.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: spikespiegal
A female friend of mine, who has a heart of gold and one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, also has bad luck follow her like a magnet. A few months ago she was let go from her job during a re-organization and offered a mediocre 6-week severance. She was told by HR she *had* to have the contract looked over by an Attorney for whatever reason.

So, she asks me if I know one, and I ask a few friends, and they give me a referral for one they say is decent. Which is why I'm trying to help her with this because I feel bad for giving her the referral.

Sis doesn't ask nor was given an estimate on the cost of handling the severance contract up front, which I'm not sure who's fault that was. Anyways, the Attorney/Law Firm takes a look at the severance contract and basically tear it up. Attorney / Law Firm then proceeds to nitpick every single detail in the contract, typos, grammar, etc. Sis signs contract a few weeks later, and she gets her 6 checks.

Attorney / Law firm then send her a bill for $1200, which is absurd considering those 6 checks totalled a hair less than $4,000. 'Round here I could have bough two bankruptcies and a divorce with that dough. That seems absurdly excessive to me, but what options does she have.

One bit of advice she got was to write it off as a business expense on her taxes because it was a contractual employer who required the attorney fees and not her. Not sure if that's smoke though.

Typically you are told upfront what the rate per hour is.

Most Attorneys charge $200 hr so the bill sounds about right.