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Legal fees without a verbal agreement nor signed written contract

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C

catsndogs

Guest
Any opinions/advice/information would be helpful and much appreciated. My husband and I live in California.
My husband recently had a proposal he wished to have reviewed by a lawyer before reviewing the actual contract. He contacted a lawyer acquaintance and FAXed a copy of the document for a referral. The FAX was forwarded and my husband was put in touch with a lawyer who specialized in contract work.
This lawyer initially contacted my husband by telephone and they discussed the proposal briefly. No specifics for legal fees were mentioned during the telephone call. My husband than received a formal letter addressing the advantages and disadvantages of the contract in question, In the letter, there was no mention of fees. Via email, the lawyer stated she would work off a retainer fee.
My husband then received an invoice for $1200, billing for the telephone conversation and review and evaluation of the proposal. Because the original lawyer acquaintance had implied the total cost of the service (from proposal review to final contract) would probably run around $1000, my husband was upset to find the price so high so early in the process.
He sent an email to the lawyer asking her to terminate all further action. She did so and sent a written letter regarding "Engagement for Legal Services" (dated after her email agreeing to terminate further work) and asking for his signature to agree to legal fees. My husband did NOT sign the contract but did pay the original invoice.
He just received another invoice for an additional sum of money, supposedly for work done prior to termination. Is he legally obligated to pay this balance?
 



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