What is the name of your state? Indiana, however my wife filed in Illinois.
I was married for 2 years and I had a very abusive wife, so I wanted to talk to an attorney about any options I may have. A friend of mine gave me his attorney’s phone number and said he was a good lawyer and offered free consultations. I called the attorney on Aug 26th 2006 and talked to him and he said to come in and we could talk more. I told him that I didn’t want to file for a divorce or anything at this time, I was just looking for some advice. On Aug 28th, I went to the attorney and sat with him for about an hour. He told me what I could keep and what she is entitled to if we did divorce. Afterwards, I asked him if he wanted me to give him a few dollars or something for his time and he said “No”. At that point, I thanked him then I left.
On September 3rd, I was served divorce papers from my wife, so I called the attorney and left him a message. He didn’t return my first call, so I called a second time and left another message. When he finally returned my phone call, he asked for my ex-wife’s attorney and said he would handle things. I called him many times for updates and never got to talk to him, only his voicemail. I live in Indiana; however my wife filed in Illinois. She took my daughter and moved 2 hours away. This attorney said he was Illinois certified and would go with me to the court house. Since he wasn’t calling me back, I started calling my wife directly. A week later, he (the attorney) told me which possessions my wife wanted, however I already had a copy of because she sent it to me. On Oct 27th, I received a letter addressed from ‘my’ attorney to my ex-wife’s attorney stating that ‘I am proceeding without his assistance and that my ex and I had agreed on most matters.’ He also said he would accompany me to the court house on Nov 27th if I needed him, however I later learned that I was not required to be present on that date.
In the first week of December, about 2 weeks before our court date, things went sour between my wife and me, so I called the attorney twice, requesting him to contact me and he never returned my phone calls. I ended up having to find a second attorney, whom I paid a retainer. My new attorney, who had less than 2 weeks to prepare, looked up my case file and noticed that my reply to the divorce papers was never filed, which the other attorney said he was handling. I was told that I had 30 days to respond after being served papers and over 3 months had past. My second ‘actual’ attorney handled my case and really saved me! He met me at the court house and we finalized the divorce.
Then, on April 12th 2007, the first attorney sends me a bill for “Professional Legal Services Rendered.” After never hearing back from him, he sends me this bill out of the blue. I am a fair man, however not only did he rarely call me back, he never did anything in regards to the divorce, nor filed my required reply, which falls in the timeline he is stating I owe him for; Aug 28th – October 16th. He led me to believe he was going to Illinois, however since he never returned my calls when it was time to go, I doubt he ever had any intentions of traveling 2 hours. He billed me for my consultation, which was 6 days before I was even served papers. He billed me a total of $673.75, which includes the 5 voicemails I left him. He never charged me for the voice mails I left him in December however. My question is basically what, if anything, do I owe him? We never signed anything, never collected a retainer, and never actually did anything for my case. I am a fair person, however when someone is blatantly misleading, I don’t see how he can bill me for services I never received. Please help me. Thank you for reading!
I was married for 2 years and I had a very abusive wife, so I wanted to talk to an attorney about any options I may have. A friend of mine gave me his attorney’s phone number and said he was a good lawyer and offered free consultations. I called the attorney on Aug 26th 2006 and talked to him and he said to come in and we could talk more. I told him that I didn’t want to file for a divorce or anything at this time, I was just looking for some advice. On Aug 28th, I went to the attorney and sat with him for about an hour. He told me what I could keep and what she is entitled to if we did divorce. Afterwards, I asked him if he wanted me to give him a few dollars or something for his time and he said “No”. At that point, I thanked him then I left.
On September 3rd, I was served divorce papers from my wife, so I called the attorney and left him a message. He didn’t return my first call, so I called a second time and left another message. When he finally returned my phone call, he asked for my ex-wife’s attorney and said he would handle things. I called him many times for updates and never got to talk to him, only his voicemail. I live in Indiana; however my wife filed in Illinois. She took my daughter and moved 2 hours away. This attorney said he was Illinois certified and would go with me to the court house. Since he wasn’t calling me back, I started calling my wife directly. A week later, he (the attorney) told me which possessions my wife wanted, however I already had a copy of because she sent it to me. On Oct 27th, I received a letter addressed from ‘my’ attorney to my ex-wife’s attorney stating that ‘I am proceeding without his assistance and that my ex and I had agreed on most matters.’ He also said he would accompany me to the court house on Nov 27th if I needed him, however I later learned that I was not required to be present on that date.
In the first week of December, about 2 weeks before our court date, things went sour between my wife and me, so I called the attorney twice, requesting him to contact me and he never returned my phone calls. I ended up having to find a second attorney, whom I paid a retainer. My new attorney, who had less than 2 weeks to prepare, looked up my case file and noticed that my reply to the divorce papers was never filed, which the other attorney said he was handling. I was told that I had 30 days to respond after being served papers and over 3 months had past. My second ‘actual’ attorney handled my case and really saved me! He met me at the court house and we finalized the divorce.
Then, on April 12th 2007, the first attorney sends me a bill for “Professional Legal Services Rendered.” After never hearing back from him, he sends me this bill out of the blue. I am a fair man, however not only did he rarely call me back, he never did anything in regards to the divorce, nor filed my required reply, which falls in the timeline he is stating I owe him for; Aug 28th – October 16th. He led me to believe he was going to Illinois, however since he never returned my calls when it was time to go, I doubt he ever had any intentions of traveling 2 hours. He billed me for my consultation, which was 6 days before I was even served papers. He billed me a total of $673.75, which includes the 5 voicemails I left him. He never charged me for the voice mails I left him in December however. My question is basically what, if anything, do I owe him? We never signed anything, never collected a retainer, and never actually did anything for my case. I am a fair person, however when someone is blatantly misleading, I don’t see how he can bill me for services I never received. Please help me. Thank you for reading!