subpoena charge

[antoniomelandri]

What is the name of your state? Arkansas/Texas
My case (child custody) is under the Texas jurisdiction, but I had to subpoena documents from the state of Arkansas. Due to my court deadline, the law firm in Arkansas did this on an emergency basis; it was, all in all work of one afternoon. Their total charge shows ca. $200 in expenses (copying, fedex subpoena documents to my attorney in texas, etc), plus ca. $1,300 in services (the hourly rate of the attorney who did this is $165 per hour). Their invoice showed then a $400 discount, so the total charge is $1,100, repeat, more than 1K for filing a subpoena.
I pressed them to give me an itemized invoice, which showed 5 1/2 hours of work (still not accounting for the services that would have charged the extra $400 they "discounted"). Much of those 5 1/2 hours describe "conferences" by the young attorney with his colleagues, which leads me to think the young atty. was learning the process; also, the itemization was lumped together in groups of activities, without specifying how long a certain phone call (several) was, or how long was the examination of documents.
Before I go ahead and file a complaint, is this a plausible charge for filing a subpoena (with a University administration)? (the law firm replied to my first unofficial complaint that this involved dealing with the laws of two states). Thanks. antoniomelandri (not my actual name)