What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New Jersey
Earlier this year I wanted to form a Delaware entity and so I enlisted the services of an attorney I knew. I gave him all the information he said he needed and waited to hear back. Weeks go by and no contact from him whatsoever. Eventually I grew tired of waiting as I knew something as trivial as forming an entity, especially in Delaware, doesn't take long at all. I happened to an entity search on the Delaware entity search site and found my incorporation formed days after I sent him the email, and so I went to contact the lawyer and he offered no explanation as to why he never contacted me and treated it as if nothing was done. So I went to collect the documents from him and got the bill. I paid it and didn't look back. There was no agreement or retainer signed or anything like that.
Fast forward a few months and I needed someone to handle the organization of the company, so I got someone who is very reputable this time. The new lawyer told me to get the person who incorporated the company to sign an Action of Sole Incorporator form. I looked at my Certificate of Incorporation and saw the Incorporator's signature and the relevant info was not of the lawyer I employed and was someone else's. I looked into the incorporator online and saw that they only handle incorporations and actually do quite a lot of them per year. So I got in contact with the people at this new firm and got what I needed but I also asked how much was it to form a Delaware corporation. They quoted a price around $400 cheaper than what I was billed and that includes everything I had received from the lawyer (actually I received less since he only gave me a few things and not all the documents). The lawyer actually billed me again for the registered agent fee which is already included in the outsourced firm's price and just put the rest into professional fees connected to the formation of my company to get to around $400 more than the other firm's price.
What are my options to get that $400 back from the lawyer? I have been reading into it and some sites claim it is an ethics violation to mark-up a client's bill when otusourcing. Can I go dispute this in arbitration court or any other court and can I file a complaint with my state's bar?
Earlier this year I wanted to form a Delaware entity and so I enlisted the services of an attorney I knew. I gave him all the information he said he needed and waited to hear back. Weeks go by and no contact from him whatsoever. Eventually I grew tired of waiting as I knew something as trivial as forming an entity, especially in Delaware, doesn't take long at all. I happened to an entity search on the Delaware entity search site and found my incorporation formed days after I sent him the email, and so I went to contact the lawyer and he offered no explanation as to why he never contacted me and treated it as if nothing was done. So I went to collect the documents from him and got the bill. I paid it and didn't look back. There was no agreement or retainer signed or anything like that.
Fast forward a few months and I needed someone to handle the organization of the company, so I got someone who is very reputable this time. The new lawyer told me to get the person who incorporated the company to sign an Action of Sole Incorporator form. I looked at my Certificate of Incorporation and saw the Incorporator's signature and the relevant info was not of the lawyer I employed and was someone else's. I looked into the incorporator online and saw that they only handle incorporations and actually do quite a lot of them per year. So I got in contact with the people at this new firm and got what I needed but I also asked how much was it to form a Delaware corporation. They quoted a price around $400 cheaper than what I was billed and that includes everything I had received from the lawyer (actually I received less since he only gave me a few things and not all the documents). The lawyer actually billed me again for the registered agent fee which is already included in the outsourced firm's price and just put the rest into professional fees connected to the formation of my company to get to around $400 more than the other firm's price.
What are my options to get that $400 back from the lawyer? I have been reading into it and some sites claim it is an ethics violation to mark-up a client's bill when otusourcing. Can I go dispute this in arbitration court or any other court and can I file a complaint with my state's bar?