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Attorney's Fees - Attorney Did not File appropriately - What can I do?

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nmbfmp9982

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? IN

In July, 2001, I hired an Attorney to 1) Get the NCP to pay his child support obligation 2) Modify child support b/c he is a professional athlete and was not paying as much as he should for his income level, and 3) Pay for my attorney's fees as a result. The Attorney filed the petition, however the case is still in the courts (the father keeps dragging his feet and my previous attorney - I fired him today - was not adequately handling the case). The petition filed in 2001 requested all of the above, yet now the attorney is requesting I pay him b/c the court had not yet ruled on the matter.

I have little faith in the attorney's abilities, and despite the original petition, I don't believe he has ever addressed the issue in front of the Judge. We have been to court numerous times (I haven't been able to make them all as I live out of state now), and 95% of the court dates have been a request by his attorney or mine for a continuance. We now have a court date next week, and I am going to have to represent myself. My attorney's fees issue has not yet been resolved however.

What should be my next steps? I plan to officially file a grievance with the Indiana Supreme Court for disciplinary action.
 


stealth2

Under the Radar Member
You owe your attorney his fees - there's no guarantee that a judge would award your request. You hired the man and you have to pay him. If you do get legal fees awadred, the money will come back to you.
 
Answer

I am in IN. I agree with the answer given. Even if he is made to pay your legal fees, he will not necessarily have to pay them to the attorney. YOU are responsible for paying your attorney and your ex is responsible to repay you. Your attorney can agree to take payment directly from him, but it doesn't appear he wants to go that route since he is requesting payment from you.
 

nmbfmp9982

Junior Member
The previous attorney I had filed a form with the court, as was requested by the Judge and is the law. I did not pay him anything at all, nor did I ever see the invoices.

I don't think any of you understand. I thought my question would be answered by an attorney.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
nmbfmp9982 said:
The previous attorney I had filed a form with the court, as was requested by the Judge and is the law. I did not pay him anything at all, nor did I ever see the invoices.

I don't think any of you understand. I thought my question would be answered by an attorney.
There are a few attorneys who post on these boards, but most of the people are laypeople who have gained significant knowledge of the law over the years.

I am also in Indiana. Are you saying that your previous attorney did not make you pay a retainer and never sent you a bill? Did you sign a contract?
If that is the case then it sounds to me like the attorney expected a "windfall" from your case (because it was against a professional athlete) and could have deliberated dragged this out to up his fees. You certainly are not obligated to pay him a single penny until he provides you with a detailed and itemized statement/invoice. Even then, you have some recourse to argue malpractice. It doesn't take three years to get a child support modification in Indiana....no matter WHO daddy is.

However, technically, yes you do owe him the fees....and then dad would have to reimburse you. However I wouldn't pay him a penny until you get a consult with another attorney. This whole thing sounds really fishy to me.
 
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nmbfmp9982

Junior Member
I certainly do expect him to receive compensation for what "limited" work he has completed on my behalf. However, I don't understand why he would send me a letter (after I sent letters and placed unanswered phone calls on this matter), stating that the Judge has yet to rule on the matter, and then tell me that he won't represent me anymore if I don't pay something to him directly. How does he expect the Judge to make a ruling if he fails to appear in court? The whole situation has been ridiculously long and frustrating. I now have to travel back to Indiana and represent myself on such short notice, for a hearing I don't understand.

Yes, my previous attorney did not make me pay a retainer, nor did he send me a copy of his invoices/statements. The judge awarded me attorney's fees, he was requested to fill out the appropriate paperwork with the court, and that was all.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
nmbfmp9982 said:
I certainly do expect him to receive compensation for what "limited" work he has completed on my behalf. However, I don't understand why he would send me a letter (after I sent letters and placed unanswered phone calls on this matter), stating that the Judge has yet to rule on the matter, and then tell me that he won't represent me anymore if I don't pay something to him directly. How does he expect the Judge to make a ruling if he fails to appear in court? The whole situation has been ridiculously long and frustrating. I now have to travel back to Indiana and represent myself on such short notice, for a hearing I don't understand.

Yes, my previous attorney did not make me pay a retainer, nor did he send me a copy of his invoices/statements. The judge awarded me attorney's fees, he was requested to fill out the appropriate paperwork with the court, and that was all.
Ok...then this gets more interesting. Since you are in Indiana and the judge ALREADY awarded you legal fees then he should have been submitting his bills to the opposing party. You definitely need to consult with another attorney. This whole thing smells bad. Do NOT give him a penny without advice from another attorney. It almost sounds as if the judge finally got fed up with delays and ordered that dad no longer had to pay your legal fees....which would make sense if your attorney was deliberately dragging things out. Get yourself a consult with another attorney ASAP. Don't go in alone if you don't have to do that.
 

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