What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I have a basic ethics question, I have retained my lawyer for a divorce/custody case. Since, she has filed the petition and has started the process. I am not being allowed to speak with my son and I asked her today if we could file an emergency motion with the court. She then told me that we could, but would require another non-refundable retainer that is equal to about 8 hours of billable hours. In honesty, and remember I am not a lawyer, I could not imagine drafting the motion and the (maybe) hour in court (including drive time, etc.) would be over 3-4 hours.
My question is this, is this ethical? Should I have to "retain" her a second time to file a motion on a case she is already retained on and, which I consider, part of the reason she is my lawyer? Should she be working on the case that I have hired her for or should I expect any (reasonable) motion should be filed with the time deducted from the large retainer I already paid?
This is the first time I have really dealt with a lawyer, so I really do not know what to expect. If this does bring up some ethical concerns, what is my course of action? I would not want to "upset" her and have her drop me as a client and keep the non-refundable retainer I already paid.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
I have a basic ethics question, I have retained my lawyer for a divorce/custody case. Since, she has filed the petition and has started the process. I am not being allowed to speak with my son and I asked her today if we could file an emergency motion with the court. She then told me that we could, but would require another non-refundable retainer that is equal to about 8 hours of billable hours. In honesty, and remember I am not a lawyer, I could not imagine drafting the motion and the (maybe) hour in court (including drive time, etc.) would be over 3-4 hours.
My question is this, is this ethical? Should I have to "retain" her a second time to file a motion on a case she is already retained on and, which I consider, part of the reason she is my lawyer? Should she be working on the case that I have hired her for or should I expect any (reasonable) motion should be filed with the time deducted from the large retainer I already paid?
This is the first time I have really dealt with a lawyer, so I really do not know what to expect. If this does bring up some ethical concerns, what is my course of action? I would not want to "upset" her and have her drop me as a client and keep the non-refundable retainer I already paid.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?