Do I have to pay this?

[Ohiogal]

Call your lawyer and question about the bill. If your attorney refuses to explain the bill to you, you should tell your lawyer that you will file a complaint with the disciplinary commission. Don't just ignore the bill since your lawyer may sue you. Most lawyers are scared of disciplinary commission, and they won't want any troubles.

The disciplinary commission? Again, WHAT has the attorney done that is unethical? Oh yeah. Nothing that has been stated. Or they may call your bluff and end up suing you to recover their fees AND you get a judgment against you. And if you file a friviolous complaint, expect to have issues getting counsel to represent you in the future.

 

[Bali Hai]

I paid $2500 for a retainer fee for my divorce attorney, who told me that I most likely wouldn't have to put anything additional down. My divorce, though completely uncontested, took over a year from start to finish, because my ex-husband's lawyer did everything to drag her feet. She refused to answer e-mails, faxes, and phone calls. Paperwork that she was supposed to have presented in a timely manner took her literally months to present. My attorney wasn't much better. Unless I contacted her I heard nothing in the progress of all of this, so naturally I e-mailed her to know the status of the proceedings. October 17, 2011 our divorce was finally final. I heard nothing from my attorney since then, but on Christmas Eve 2012 received a bill for $2400 in addition to the retainer fee. Turns out she was charging me for every e-mail, regardless of the size (most were one sentence). We have been divorced for over a year, and she sends me this out of the blue! I do know she has cancer, and maybe needs money for medical bills, but this to me is very unfair. If it wouldn't have been for the incompetance of my ex-husband's laywer I wouldn't have had to have e-mailed her in the first place! Do I have a legal leg to stand on?

Hiring a lawyer is no different than hiring a contractor to paint your house. If the contractor is doing a crummy job, you fire them immediately and hire another. You don't wait until the paint job is done and then complain about the bill!

I was very dissatisfied with my first lawyer and refused to pay him. I told him that because he did such pitiful job representing me (alimony and one way property settlement), I had no money to pay him. He took me to small claims court and of course won a judgement. The small claims court judge and the lawyer knew each other. I also knew the small claims court judge and at least I had the satisfaction of telling him in detail what an inept and pitiful job the lawyer did for me. See the judges reply to me above.