Lawyer fees for answering bar complaint

[rensmif]

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

Hired an Lawyer to represent me in a land case, After two months he had only made a couple phone calls and reportedly visited the property in question, I had paid him a $3,000 retainer and when I questioned him about his lack of work he suggested I get other council and wanted to keep all my funds, I requested an itemized bill and a refund of unearned money and eventually he sent a bill for $2,106 but refunded half of my retainer, $1,500. I was not happy with the way I he did no work in the two months he had the case so I filed a complaint with the bar.

The bar dismissed it saying that he was not unethical. Now the lawyer wants me to pay him for his time spent in his response to the bar, plus an additional $606 that he refunded to me. I am liable for this ? I am basically looking for advice on how to proceed. Thanks in advance

 

[quincy]

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

Hired an Lawyer to represent me in a land case, After two months he had only made a couple phone calls and reportedly visited the property in question, I had paid him a $3,000 retainer and when I questioned him about his lack of work he suggested I get other council and wanted to keep all my funds, I requested an itemized bill and a refund of unearned money and eventually he sent a bill for $2,106 but refunded half of my retainer, $1,500. I was not happy with the way I he did no work in the two months he had the case so I filed a complaint with the bar.

The bar dismissed it saying that he was not unethical. Now the lawyer wants me to pay him for his time spent in his response to the bar, plus an additional $606 that he refunded to me. I am liable for this ? I am basically looking for advice on how to proceed. Thanks in advance

What exactly does your contract with the attorney say?

The wording of your agreement with the attorney should tell you what can be charged to you, what can be deducted from the retainer, and what must be refunded to you (if anything) from the retainer. If the contract clearly stated that the retainer was nonrefundable, for example, then any unspent funds would belong to the attorney.

A lawyer cannot bill a client for expenses incurred handling a complaint filed against him by the client (with a few exceptions).

 

[latigo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GA . . . . The bar dismissed it saying that he was not unethical. Now the lawyer wants me to pay him for his time spent in his response to the bar, plus an additional $606 that he refunded to me.

Now that just might interest the Georgia Bar!

 

[quincy]

Now that just might interest the Georgia Bar!

Yup. But if rensmif reports it to the Georgia Bar then he should expect another bill from the attorney.

 

[eerelations]

Yup. But if rensmif reports it to the Georgia Bar then he should expect another bill from the attorney.

But at least he'll know by then whether or not he should pay it.

 

[rensmif]

So I guess that is my big question, should I report this action to the bar, I cant see submitting it for fee arbitration as I am not his client. He was dismissed and issued what he said was a refund of earnest money. He was reported to the bar for his lack of action on my behalf. I do wish he had been this proactive in representing me.

I am leaning toward filing another bar complaint rather than waiting on his next step. I do appreciate all the responses thus far thank you all

 

[latigo]

Yup. But if rensmif reports it to the Georgia Bar then he should expect another bill from the attorney.

I will need some help here Q.

Under what legal theory would the attorney being complained of be entitled to charge the OP for defending himself before the bar association?

Is it good public policy to thus discourage citizens from doing so?

Is it a matter of winning or losing?

And if so, could it be applied discriminatorily so that only the prevailing attorney is entitled to be reimbursed for his time and not the client should he prevail?

If an attorney representing himself were to sue a client say on a promissory note that allowed the award of attorney fees, do you believe that the law allows him such an award? I don't and I see not significant distinction.

And incidentally Quincy I just spoke with a representative of our state bar association and she agrees that such a billing would be the proper subject for a second grievance from the client.

 

[quincy]

So I guess that is my big question, should I report this action to the bar, I cant see submitting it for fee arbitration as I am not his client. He was dismissed and issued what he said was a refund of earnest money. He was reported to the bar for his lack of action on my behalf. I do wish he had been this proactive in representing me.

I am leaning toward filing another bar complaint rather than waiting on his next step. I do appreciate all the responses thus far thank you all

First - latigo, my post was a JOKE (hence the big grinning face). Apparently not a good joke )), but it was not meant to be taken seriously. I agree with your state's Bar rep. and your state's Bar rep. agrees with my first post to rensmif. Read it.

rensmif, if you want to file another complaint against the attorney, this time based on his written demand that you pay for time he spent handling the first Bar complaint you filed, you can do this if you want to - or, if the attorney requested additional fees orally, you can (probably) safely ignore them. The attorney needs to provide you with a written accounting of all costs incurred in the handling your case and these costs cannot include the costs he has incurred in handling the complaint filed against him.

You can go to the Georgia Bar Association site and read the applicable rule of professional conduct that "prohibits illegal or clearly excessive fees" (Rule 1.5) and you can read the applicable rule on the filing of complaints against an attorney (Rule 9.2) (http://www.gabar.org/barrules/georgia-rules-of-professional-conduct.cfm).

Attorneys cannot restrict any client from filing a complaint against him/her (e.g., charging the client a fee if a complaint is filed) - to do so could lead to disbarment.

The Bar Association site provides resources for anyone in Georgia seeking answers to legal questions and concerns. You might want to make use of some of those? Good luck.

 

[rensmif]

I am very thankful for the input.


He did NO work that I am aware of other than a couple phone calls made to an administrative clerk, and taking 2(two) trips to look at the property. No letters or calls to the opposing lawyers at all in two months. I dismissed him and requested a refund for that reason. He said he had "around 6 hours invested, and because we had a $3,000 minimum fee signed statement he offered to refund $1500. And he sent it to me I requested an itemized bill and the return of my information I had given to him. He sent it eventually along with an itemized bill for 10.5 hours $2,106. I understand the "signed $3,000 minimum fee" issue, but there is a responsibility on the lawyer part to represent a client thoroughly, and in a timely fashion. I feel he violated our agreement when he took funds and did no work on his clients behalf.

In dismissing my complaint, the bar did say that this may be an issue to address with FEE arbitration. I am now believing that this latest written bill request may be an effort to discourage me from filing for fee arbitration. I believe it is in my best interest to file a second bar complaint.

 

[quincy]

I am very thankful for the input.


He did NO work that I am aware of other than a couple phone calls made to an administrative clerk, and taking 2(two) trips to look at the property. No letters or calls to the opposing lawyers at all in two months. I dismissed him and requested a refund for that reason. He said he had "around 6 hours invested, and because we had a $3,000 minimum fee signed statement he offered to refund $1500. And he sent it to me I requested an itemized bill and the return of my information I had given to him. He sent it eventually along with an itemized bill for 10.5 hours $2,106. I understand the "signed $3,000 minimum fee" issue, but there is a responsibility on the lawyer part to represent a client thoroughly, and in a timely fashion. I feel he violated our agreement when he took funds and did no work on his clients behalf.

In dismissing my complaint, the bar did say that this may be an issue to address with FEE arbitration. I am now believing that this latest written bill request may be an effort to discourage me from filing for fee arbitration. I believe it is in my best interest to file a second bar complaint.

If you think it is in your best interest to file a second bar complaint, you can certainly do that. Without knowing all of the facts of your case and your relationship with the attorney, and without knowing what work he has done to further your case, and without the benefit of a personal review of the attorney invoice, there is no way for any of us here to judge whether the amount he is charging you for various services listed is reasonable for your area.

As indicated, however, it would be unreasonable (and a violation of professional rules) for him to charge you for the time (and/or money) he had to invest in addressing the Bar complaint. If you have evidence that he requested these costs from you (in the form of an invoice or written demand), that would be good reason for filing another complaint. If he only told you orally, in a phone conversation or in person, that he wanted to be paid these expenses, it is probably not worth your time filing a complaint. It would hard to prove he asked for additional money.

You can check out Georgia free legal resources by searching the Bar website, and you could potentially find an attorney this way, to personally review the invoice to determine if the amount charged by the attorney, and costs deducted from the retainer, are justifiable.

We cannot do personal reviews here - and any decision you make is ultimately up to you. Discussing your options with an attorney in your area would be smart and I advise it.

Good luck, rensmif.

 

[rensmif]

**update**

I again thank you guys for your help to this point, it has been a blessing to me.

OK, I filed a new complaint with the bar shortly after starting this thread, I also, on the advice given by phone from a Bar employee, filed for fee arbitration as well. It has been almost a month and today I hear from the attorney by letter that "I withdrew my billing for the 4.5 hours or $900.00 additional charges," this is the fees he was trying to charge me for answering my original bar complaint.

He still is trying to bill me for $606 that he offered to and eventually did return. He has obviously been contacted by the bar because he referenced that I had filed for fee arbitration in his latest letter, and Cc'd a copy to the assistant general council at the bar.

I am puzzled as to why I have not heard anything from the bar regarding the complaint or fee arbitration, and am wondering if he can just attempt to "un-ring the bell," like this as far as the bar goes.

I am a disabled VET who deals daily with a host of anxiety issues, I hired this man to handle a situation for me to make sure that I don't handle it inappropriately. To date, he has delayed my resolving this issue, basically taken $1500 of my money, and is causing me added stress with his latest actions. I feel I have been cheated and am now am being harassed by him.

Can he now just tell the bar, "oops my bad" and that's it ?

 

[quincy]

I again thank you guys for your help to this point, it has been a blessing to me.

OK, I filed a new complaint with the bar shortly after starting this thread, I also, on the advice given by phone from a Bar employee, filed for fee arbitration as well. It has been almost a month and today I hear from the attorney by letter that "I withdrew my billing for the 4.5 hours or $900.00 additional charges," this is the fees he was trying to charge me for answering my original bar complaint.

He still is trying to bill me for $606 that he offered to and eventually did return. He has obviously been contacted by the bar because he referenced that I had filed for fee arbitration in his latest letter, and Cc'd a copy to the assistant general council at the bar.

I am puzzled as to why I have not heard anything from the bar regarding the complaint or fee arbitration, and am wondering if he can just attempt to "un-ring the bell," like this as far as the bar goes.

I am a disabled VET who deals daily with a host of anxiety issues, I hired this man to handle a situation for me to make sure that I don't handle it inappropriately. To date, he has delayed my resolving this issue, basically taken $1500 of my money, and is causing me added stress with his latest actions. I feel I have been cheated and am now am being harassed by him.

Can he now just tell the bar, "oops my bad" and that's it ?

If the Bar is satisfied with the "oops my bad" then, yes, that could be all there is.

While the attorney was smart to withdraw the $900 he was trying to charge you for the time he spent addressing the Bar complaint, and he would have had a hard time justifying such a fee, and the Bar could have easily taken action against his license, it is entirely possible that the offer to eliminate the $900 charge was done at the prompting of the Bar, after receipt of your complaint.

The $1500/$606 will probably be reviewed to see if the amounts charged against your retainer are reasonable based on the attorney's proven work done on your case.

There are some attorneys who are less-than-honorable, just like there are less-than-honorable individuals in all fields of work. I am sorry you ran into one of them and that he has caused you headaches.

Good luck with the fee arbitration. I hope your second attorney is able to resolve to your satisfaction the land case.