Attorney Fees

[MsShauna]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia

During a routine traffic stop it was revealed that my license had been suspended 5 days prior due to failure to appear on some citations I got 2 years ago. Now I live 5 hours from the county issued the suspension and I was injured in a car accident so I was not able to drive the 5 hours to go into the court like suggested. I hired and paid an attorney and he told me he emailed the ADA and they were offering one of the citations dismissed and pay a $1235 fine to the court and $220 to DDS. I told him I did not want to accept that plea and he said it was a good deal and I should take it in which I refused. I never got an agreement to sign from the attorney even though I asked numerous times for a billing statement.

I then began corresponding with the ADA and we finally came to an agreement to dismiss the citations. I paid him $750.00 but I'm the one that resolved the case. Is the attorney still entitled to the payment? The only thing he told me he did was email. The attorney has ignored my requests for billing statements, is it reasonable to pay him $750 when the only work done was sending an email? If not how do I go about resolving this?

 

[justalayman]

Is the attorney still entitled to the payment?

when did you terminate his services and what was your actual fee agreement/contract?

 

[MsShauna]

After he came back with the $1200 offer I terminated. There was nothing in writing but I talked to him and he said it would be $750 to get it worked out to get them out of suspension. My license are still suspended but I've been negotiating with the ADA for a couple months now. We finally came to an agreement last night. When I paid him I asked for an itemized bill which I never got and I have asked him numerous more times after that to no avail.

 

[startedone]

Naughty lawyer. He should have had a contract executed. Now the question is : is the $750 bucks excessive?

The lawyer is going to be hard pressed to say it is not.

Small claims ... ask for it all back.

 

[MsShauna]

My mom said the same thing. I basically did all the work and he got paid. I sent him an email about the fee and he has yet to respond.

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia

During a routine traffic stop it was revealed that my license had been suspended 5 days prior due to failure to appear on some citations I got 2 years ago. Now I live 5 hours from the county issued the suspension and I was injured in a car accident so I was not able to drive the 5 hours to go into the court like suggested. I hired and paid an attorney and he told me he emailed the ADA and they were offering one of the citations dismissed and pay a $1235 fine to the court and $220 to DDS. I told him I did not want to accept that plea and he said it was a good deal and I should take it in which I refused. I never got an agreement to sign from the attorney even though I asked numerous times for a billing statement.

I then began corresponding with the ADA and we finally came to an agreement to dismiss the citations. I paid him $750.00 but I'm the one that resolved the case. Is the attorney still entitled to the payment? The only thing he told me he did was email. The attorney has ignored my requests for billing statements, is it reasonable to pay him $750 when the only work done was sending an email? If not how do I go about resolving this?

Are you kidding me? Most attorneys I know of charge $300 or more PER HOUR for their services. They did at least 2-3 hours of work on your behalf (and if you ask them, they will probably provide you with a detailed breakdown of their $750 bill).

You say that all they did was send an email, but I'll bet they spoke with the ADA a couple of times, reviewed your case and researched the law as it applies to your situation. Even if the attorney had to pick up a phone and speak with you, they also charge you for that time.

I'm sure that they more than earned their $750 in attorney fees.

After he came back with the $1200 offer I terminated. There was nothing in writing but I talked to him and he said it would be $750 to get it worked out to get them out of suspension. My license are still suspended but I've been negotiating with the ADA for a couple months now. We finally came to an agreement last night. When I paid him I asked for an itemized bill which I never got and I have asked him numerous more times after that to no avail.

Just because the attorney didn't get you the final resolution that you wanted doesn't give you the right not to pay the bill for the services they DID provide.

If you have already asked for an itemized bill, I would suggest putting your request IN WRITING and sending it to the attorney's office. If they STILL do not respond, then a call to the local Bar Association to file a complaint might be able to at least get you that itemized bill you need that should justify the charges.

 

[MsShauna]

Are you kidding me? Most attorneys I know of charge $300 or more PER HOUR for their services. They did at least 2-3 hours of work on your behalf (and if you ask them, they will probably provide you with a detailed breakdown of their $750 bill).

You say that all they did was send an email, but I'll bet they spoke with the ADA a couple of times, reviewed your case and researched the law as it applies to your situation. Even if the attorney had to pick up a phone and speak with you, they also charge you for that time.

I'm sure that they more than earned their $750 in attorney fees.



Just because the attorney didn't get you the final resolution that you wanted doesn't give you the right not to pay the bill for the services they DID provide.

Calm down there is no need for rudeness I was just getting an opinion. Actually in Atlanta the rate I was getting quoted was $500 but I do not choose my attorneys based on the cost because you get what you pay for. I did get the resolution I wanted and I'm not trying to get out of paying anything, I paid him upfront and handed him all the information from the courts. Dekalb County ADA's does not accept phone calls she specifically makes everyone deal in email and I was forwarded the email between him and her and she basically gave him the cost of the citations. She never knew the other facts of the case until her and I started speaking and after I told her everything I told the attorney I sent her a offer to dismiss and she accepted. I just got an email with him because I asked him to explain everything to me and he said he continued to work on my case after I told him I no longer wanted him as my attorney. He also said he didn't need any case law because there was no law to argue..whatever he meant by that. Anyways thanks everyone for your opinions, information, and suggestions.

 

[startedone]

And most lawyers I know won't do any work until a contract is signed....the lawyer is going to have a problem here in court. Judges expect them to follow their ethical responsibilities, and some judges will come hard on a lawyer who strays.

 

[Ohiogal]

Calm down there is no need for rudeness I was just getting an opinion. Actually in Atlanta the rate I was getting quoted was $500 but I do not choose my attorneys based on the cost because you get what you pay for. I did get the resolution I wanted and I'm not trying to get out of paying anything, I paid him upfront and handed him all the information from the courts. Dekalb County ADA's does not accept phone calls she specifically makes everyone deal in email and I was forwarded the email between him and her and she basically gave him the cost of the citations. She never knew the other facts of the case until her and I started speaking and after I told her everything I told the attorney I sent her a offer to dismiss and she accepted. I just got an email with him because I asked him to explain everything to me and he said he continued to work on my case after I told him I no longer wanted him as my attorney. He also said he didn't need any case law because there was no law to argue..whatever he meant by that. Anyways thanks everyone for your opinions, information, and suggestions.

How did you speak to her if you were represented AND she doesn't accept phone calls? She violated her ethics by speaking with you when you had an attorney working for you.

 

[MsShauna]

Ohiogirl, I terminated him effective immediately on February 23 at 11:43 AM verbally and in writing(fax and email) in which he accepted and even states in his email that he knew I no longer wanted him to represent me. He initiated another email with the ADA on the same day at 4:30 PM still claiming to be representing me. I emailed her at 8:12PM on the same day and she responded about 11:34 PM.

I agree with the other poster that if we had a written agreement this could have all been avoided. I asked numerous times via email and phone and he never would. The 2 times he called me I would ask and he would ask about payment because the service he uses could only do $500 plus the 3% card fee per day so I had to pay him in 2 installments. He ignored my emails for the contract and the invoice. I only asked for clarification but I mean its no big deal just a lesson learned. I never had the notion that he would return all the money, I only felt like he owed me $250 back and could keep the $500 since he did email her. The reason I no longer wanted him to represent me is because I specifically asked him to present the same offer I presented to her and he did not and I was basically doing all the work. I gathered all the documents from the courts, department of driver services, etc so I continued to do it myself. Again thanks everyone for all your help.