Lawyer trouble

[Moni24a]

I'm in Texas.

My husband was appointed a lawyer while in jail. After talking to her I as afraid she did not care. I talked to a attorney and paid him 600 out of the 2000 he said for both of the cases. Court came a week later and he didn't show. So the court appointed was there nothing was field about a change of counsel and she got his case dismissed. The paid lawyer then came after everything was already done. Now he's wanting the rest of the 2000. I met gave him 600 cash and he ssid he would get him a bond, the court appointed got ot dismissed. Am I wrong about this do I need to pay him he rest. I had no problem doing so until I found out he was not even there until everything was done. We had no contract or anything. 600 for a week of "work" seems fair. He took credit for something someone else did and now expects to be paid, he never even notified the appointed attorney. Please help.

 

[Just Blue]

I'm in Texas.

My husband was appointed a lawyer while in jail. After talking to her I as afraid she did not care. I talked to a attorney and paid him 600 out of the 2000 he said for both of the cases. Court came a week later and he didn't show. So the court appointed was there nothing was field about a change of counsel and she got his case dismissed. The paid lawyer then came after everything was already done. Now he's wanting the rest of the 2000. I met gave him 600 cash and he ssid he would get him a bond, the court appointed got ot dismissed. Am I wrong about this do I need to pay him he rest. I had no problem doing so until I found out he was not even there until everything was done. We had no contract or anything. 600 for a week of "work" seems fair. He took credit for something someone else did and now expects to be paid, he never even notified the appointed attorney. Please help.

1. Please edit your ^ post. There are a bunch of confusing comments.

 

[Zigner]

1. Please edit your ^ post. There are a bunch of confusing comments.

Shortened (and more understandable) version:
OP's husband was arrested. OP didn't like the court appointed attorney, so she sought out private counsel. She paid said private counsel $600 out of the total agreed upon amount of $2,000. Private counsel didn't appear until after the case was heard, but the court appointed attorney was able to get the charges dismissed. Now, the private counsel wants the rest of his money. Does she have to pay him? (There was no written retainer agreement or other documentation, it was all verbal)

 

[quincy]

I'm in Texas.

My husband was appointed a lawyer while in jail. After talking to her I as afraid she did not care. I talked to a attorney and paid him 600 out of the 2000 he said for both of the cases. Court came a week later and he didn't show. So the court appointed was there nothing was field about a change of counsel and she got his case dismissed. The paid lawyer then came after everything was already done. Now he's wanting the rest of the 2000. I met gave him 600 cash and he ssid he would get him a bond, the court appointed got ot dismissed. Am I wrong about this do I need to pay him he rest. I had no problem doing so until I found out he was not even there until everything was done. We had no contract or anything. 600 for a week of "work" seems fair. He took credit for something someone else did and now expects to be paid, he never even notified the appointed attorney. Please help.

Thank you, Zigner. That helped.

Moni24a, your post raises a lot of questions. Perhaps you can provide some answers to what is asked below.

First: Did your husband sign a substitute of attorney with the court?
Second: Was the court-appointed attorney dismissed by the court from your husband's case?
Third: Did the private attorney you hired in Texas really not have you sign any contract for services?
Fourth: If you had the funds to pay for a private attorney, how was your husband eligible for a court-appointed attorney?

Here is a link to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct: https://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=27271

Here is a link to Texas Legal Ethics on Fees: https://www.law.cornell.edu/ethics/tx/narr/TX_NARR_1_05.HTM

Something seems very wrong with what you are describing.

 

[LdiJ]

I'm in Texas.

My husband was appointed a lawyer while in jail. After talking to her I as afraid she did not care. I talked to a attorney and paid him 600 out of the 2000 he said for both of the cases. Court came a week later and he didn't show. So the court appointed was there nothing was field about a change of counsel and she got his case dismissed. The paid lawyer then came after everything was already done. Now he's wanting the rest of the 2000. I met gave him 600 cash and he ssid he would get him a bond, the court appointed got ot dismissed. Am I wrong about this do I need to pay him he rest. I had no problem doing so until I found out he was not even there until everything was done. We had no contract or anything. 600 for a week of "work" seems fair. He took credit for something someone else did and now expects to be paid, he never even notified the appointed attorney. Please help.

I am going to give you some advice that is valid whether we understand the exact details of the situation or not.

Call the Texas Bar Association (its the group that self polices attorneys). Explain to them that you have a fee dispute with an attorney. They will connect you to the people that handle that. Explain the situation thoroughly to them, and they will investigate the situation and make a decision. If they decide that the attorney is in the wrong, you not only won't have to pay him any more but you might get your 600.00 back. If they decide that you are in the wrong, you will owe him the money.

I am leaning on the side of them deciding that he is in the wrong, for two reasons 1) He never notified the court and the other attorney that he was taking over the case, and 2) He didn't show until it was all over. Therefore, he actually did nothing.

 

[TigerD]

I am leaning on the side of them deciding that he is in the wrong, for two reasons 1) He never notified the court and the other attorney that he was taking over the case, and 2) He didn't show until it was all over. Therefore, he actually did nothing.

I disagree with this:
1. We don't know what he did or didn't do.
2. Until he receives the full payment, he would be a fool to enter the case. He would never see another dime after he entered.
3. He met with the OP and opened the file. Did he meet with the accused? How long did he meet with the OP? What was done?
4. Did the private counsel talk to the prosecutor?
5. Why didn't the OP inform the court appointed attorney that they had hired a private attorney?
6. It seems like the OP agreed to a flat fee for service. Whether or not she owes the money depends on the contract. (I know she says she didn't sign a contract, but few lawyers would accept a client without a contract.)

Regardless - communication is the key. Write letters instead of phone calls.

Good luck
TD

 

[quincy]

... I am leaning on the side of them deciding that he is in the wrong, for two reasons 1) He never notified the court and the other attorney that he was taking over the case, and 2) He didn't show until it was all over. Therefore, he actually did nothing.

I agree with TigerD that there is just not enough information provided to reasonably lean one way or the other. We do not know that the attorney did nothing.

The attorney hired for the husband may or may not be due the full $2000, including the $600 already paid. The reason for the questions asked and the need for more information is that the answers to the questions are important and more information is needed to come even close to offering a valid opinion.

An attorney can be owed the full amount of a fee if the fee is to secure the services of the attorney. The fee can be to remunerate the attorney for his loss of opportunity to accept another client for the time he must work on the current client's case. A retainer fee can be refundable. Flat fees are (generally) non-refundable.

I, like TigerD, question that no contract was signed. It's possible, of course, but it certainly is not smart for an attorney to not have an agreement signed by the client.

 

[Moni24a]

Update

I met with the attorney the Friday before memorial day. It was a free consultation, told him all about the case (Motion to Adjuicate). He said he would do it for $2000. I told him I would think about it. He said ok ill read in my book to see what can be done, incase you decide to go with me. That evening I called and said ok im interested. Before he would even do anything he waited til that Tuesday (since it was a 3 day weekend) for me to go deposit the $600 in his bank acct. I took out a loan to pay for that. The court apt attorney seemed like she was not going to do anything for him. I was desperate and jumped the gun. I wish I waited.

Once I paid him, I asked him was he sure I didn't need to tell the other attorney. He said no he had taken care of it. No paper was filed/signed/ by husband or court or even him. He called me the day of court and told me HE got it dismissed. I then talked to my husband and he told me a completely different story. I did follow up with the court apt attorney and she verified everything was done, the hire attorney walked in and told her to get his hands off his client. They informed him everything was taken care of. On the county clerk website his name is no where to be found only the apt attorney.

What I found is he is a new lawyer just started last year.

 

[quincy]

I met with the attorney the Friday before memorial day. It was a free consultation, told him all about the case (Motion to Adjuicate). He said he would do it for $2000. I told him I would think about it. He said ok ill read in my book to see what can be done, incase you decide to go with me. That evening I called and said ok im interested. Before he would even do anything he waited til that Tuesday (since it was a 3 day weekend) for me to go deposit the $600 in his bank acct. I took out a loan to pay for that. The court apt attorney seemed like she was not going to do anything for him. I was desperate and jumped the gun. I wish I waited.

Once I paid him, I asked him was he sure I didn't need to tell the other attorney. He said no he had taken care of it. No paper was filed/signed/ by husband or court or even him. He called me the day of court and told me HE got it dismissed. I then talked to my husband and he told me a completely different story. I did follow up with the court apt attorney and she verified everything was done, the hire attorney walked in and told her to get his hands off his client. They informed him everything was taken care of. On the county clerk website his name is no where to be found only the apt attorney.

What I found is he is a new lawyer just started last year.

Interesting.

You can file a complaint with the Texas Bar if you think your attorney did nothing to earn his fee and they will investigate the fee dispute between you and your attorney.

Here is a link on Texas attorney fee disputes:
https://www.texasbar.com/Content/NavigationMenu/ForThePublic/ProblemswithanAttorney/ResolvingFeeDisagreements/default.htm

The fact that the attorney was a "new" attorney, by the way, does not really mean anything. I know some excellent attorneys who are recent graduates and I know some not-so-great attorneys who have been practicing for years.

Good luck.