Not all lawyers are scumbags but...

[zmansgirl]

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Maybe I found one who is on the verge?

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

Mine is a divorce/custody case, across state lines. He/the case is in New Mexico, I live in Nevada.

The meat of my question here is this.... when he quoted me his fees, he disclosed $150 an hour. That was in May 2009. I have not signed a retainer, although I did pay his retainer fee.

I finally get my first invoice in June 2009, and he's got paralegal fees on there too, at $60/hr. I had no idea there were going to be paralegal fees, much less me expected to pay them.

When I looked up the New Mexico Bar Ethics Committee Recommendations, they deem the paralegal fees fair IF THEY ARE DISCLOSED.

I paid the bill because i don't want this lawyer to dump me if I squawk. I have no money to pay another retainer to another lawyer. I don't know if he would, or could, since I signed no retainer.

Did i do the right thing? What should I do? Do I have recourse? I'm about out of hope, too....

[You Are Guilty]

Originally Posted by zmansgirl

.

Maybe I found one who is on the verge?

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

Mine is a divorce/custody case, across state lines. He/the case is in New Mexico, I live in Nevada.

The meat of my question here is this.... when he quoted me his fees, he disclosed $150 an hour. That was in May 2009. I have not signed a retainer, although I did pay his retainer fee.

I finally get my first invoice in June 2009, and he's got paralegal fees on there too, at $60/hr. I had no idea there were going to be paralegal fees, much less me expected to pay them.

When I looked up the New Mexico Bar Ethics Committee Recommendations, they deem the paralegal fees fair IF THEY ARE DISCLOSED.

I paid the bill because i don't want this lawyer to dump me if I squawk. I have no money to pay another retainer to another lawyer. I don't know if he would, or could, since I signed no retainer.

Did i do the right thing? What should I do? Do I have recourse? I'm about out of hope, too....

With all due respect... really? What would you prefer, that the attorney do the work at $150/hour instead of having the para do it for less than half that? If so, I am sure that if you called the lawyer to let him know that you don't want any paralegals to do any work on your file - only lawyers - he will be more than happy to oblige.

[zmansgirl]

Originally Posted by You Are Guilty

With all due respect... really? What would you prefer, that the attorney do the work at $150/hour instead of having the para do it for less than half that? If so, I am sure that if you called the lawyer to let him know that you don't want any paralegals to do any work on your file - only lawyers - he will be more than happy to oblige.

With all due respect .... really? By what means was I to know that his paralegal is not a paid employee who does the work, paid by him, not paid seperately by me? And with all due respect.... really? How was I to know that his paralegal is a paid contractor not an employee? And with all due respect... exactly how do you know to ask such questions if you've never dealt with it or asked such questions before?

With all due respect... how does one justify charging someone for something that was not disclosed? Is that not a hidden fee?

So... with all due repect... could you enlighten me, then, to all things I need to know so that I'm not blindsided, please? Obviously I don't know everything nor am I yet privileged enough to assimilate information from thin air or read someone's mind.

And contrary to what you've insinuated, I'm not a complete idiot. Yes, I'd like to have the work done at half the price. DUH. Shazam, what a revelation. Lets all clap now at your witty attempt to insult me.

Oh, and with all due respect... I feel I can safely make the assumption that I'm not the only one to ever ask this question, since it was brought before the NM State Bar's Ethics Committee.

Ethics are certainly in question here. Not the fee itself. With all due respect, that is.

[tranquility]

You have not been hurt in any way. The attorney did you a favor. He used the person who could most efficiently do the job and billed you accordingly. He could have done the work himself and charged you $150 for each of those hours that he charged you $60 for instead. Because a paralegal does much of certain types of work every day and the attorney does not, he probably could have charged you for more hours. (For example, would you like an attorney to bill you for the time to look up the court's rules for pleading submissions? Paralegals can type up a complaint quickly. It would take an attorney far longer just to type the thing up, let alone know and follow the proceedural rules.)

You weren't hurt. Period. It is the way things are done and if the attorney didn't disclose properly (which I am uncertain), *you* are not hurt. I can envision a certain set of circumstances where there is harm to the client and why the rule came into effect, but you did not win the lottery here. I find it unlikely for the attorney to be disiciplined at all by the state Bar under these facts and impossible for you to get any money from the situation.

[zmansgirl]

I appreciate your reply. It was matter of fact and to the point without being insulting, and I can deal with that. It certainly puts things into proper perspective, which is why I asked the question in the first place. So I can make a proper decision instead of a stupid or uninformed one.

Thank you very much.

[You Are Guilty]

Originally Posted by zmansgirl

I appreciate your reply. It was matter of fact and to the point without being insulting, and I can deal with that. It certainly puts things into proper perspective, which is why I asked the question in the first place. So I can make a proper decision instead of a stupid or uninformed one.

Thank you very much.

Of course, it's also the same exact answer I provided, but to each their own.