Releasing Lawyer on Second DUI Charge

[Tomtsu]

I was recently charged with my second dui in illinois, my first was from 2006. I was in an accident, nobody was injured, and I refused all sobriety tests. I hired a lawyer in hopes to either beat the case or have it pled to reckless driving. I agreed to pay $3500 if I pled or $5500 if we went to trial. The court presented its case and my lawyer thinks there's a low to medium chance of both winning at trial or pleading to reckless (this was the expected outcome given the accident and my prior). We were about to begin a mitigation process in hopes of securing conditional Discharge as opposed to up to two years probation (the next best outcome). The lawyer and I have signed no paperwork and so far I've paid him a $1500 retainer. I lost my job when I lost my driving privileges. Now I just found out the family member who was going to help me pay for attorney fees is no longer able to afford it. I can no longer afford to pay my attorney the additional 2k I would owe him if he were to resolve my case for me (short of perhaps selling personal belongings at significant loss). At this point I feel I need to be upfront with my lawyer and explain I can't pay him and move on. And then I assume I can request a public defender on a financial hardship at my next hearing??? This was the direction I probably should've gone from the beginning, but I was pretty freaked out, thought I had a reasonable case, and thought I had secured funding... So I thought hiring a reputable attorney was the right choice. Anyway, need to make a decision here and wondering if anyone (attorney perhaps) might have some insight on my circumstance i.e. releasing my attorney mid-litigation. Thanks in advance.

 

[quincy]

I was recently charged with my second dui in illinois, my first was from 2006. I was in an accident, nobody was injured, and I refused all sobriety tests. I hired a lawyer in hopes to either beat the case or have it pled to reckless driving. I agreed to pay $3500 if I pled or $5500 if we went to trial. The court presented its case and my lawyer thinks there's a low to medium chance of both winning at trial or pleading to reckless (this was the expected outcome given the accident and my prior). We were about to begin a mitigation process in hopes of securing conditional Discharge as opposed to up to two years probation (the next best outcome). The lawyer and I have signed no paperwork and so far I've paid him a $1500 retainer. I lost my job when I lost my driving privileges. Now I just found out the family member who was going to help me pay for attorney fees is no longer able to afford it. I can no longer afford to pay my attorney the additional 2k I would owe him if he were to resolve my case for me (short of perhaps selling personal belongings at significant loss). At this point I feel I need to be upfront with my lawyer and explain I can't pay him and move on. And then I assume I can request a public defender on a financial hardship at my next hearing??? This was the direction I probably should've gone from the beginning, but I was pretty freaked out, thought I had a reasonable case, and thought I had secured funding... So I thought hiring a reputable attorney was the right choice. Anyway, need to make a decision here and wondering if anyone (attorney perhaps) might have some insight on my circumstance i.e. releasing my attorney mid-litigation. Thanks in advance.

Even if you release your attorney now (and that is certainly one of your options), you would still be obligated to pay the attorney for any services already rendered.

I recommend you speak to your attorney and ask about setting up a payment plan or a reduction in fees.

It is generally better to stay with the attorney who has been with you from the start, unless the attorney has failed to represent you properly.

 

[Tomtsu]

Even if you release your attorney now (and that is certainly one of your options), you would still be obligated to pay the attorney for any services already rendered.

The lawyer has spent maybe two hours tops discussing my case with me between one office visit and two phone calls. He's appeared via zoom at two court dates to request contiuances' for maybe three minutes. He also reviewed my case after discovery and provided me his assessment on pleading non-guilty and going to trial VS pleading guilty. Would those services rendered demand more than the $1500 I've already paid him? The $3500 verbal agreement I made with him was to handle the entirety of my case short of trial.

Thanks for your response. This is one of the considerations I have to make sense of moving forward.

 

[quincy]

The lawyer has spent maybe two hours tops discussing my case with me between one office visit and two phone calls. He's appeared via zoom at two court dates to request contiuances' for maybe three minutes. He also reviewed my case after discovery and provided me his assessment on pleading non-guilty and going to trial VS pleading guilty. Would those services rendered demand more than the $1500 I've already paid him? The $3500 verbal agreement I made with him was to handle the entirety of my case short of trial.

Thanks for your response. This is one of the considerations I have to make sense of moving forward.

It is not outside the realm of possibilities that the attorney has spent $1500.

You should ask your attorney for a detailed accounting of the money spent on your case to date and discuss with your attorney your current financial situation.

Taking a case to trial is always going to be more costly than working out a plea agreement of some sort with the prosecutor - but you should be fully informed and understand completely what the exact consequences of any action means to you.

 

[adjusterjack]

The lawyer has spent maybe two hours tops discussing my case with me between one office visit and two phone calls. He's appeared via zoom at two court dates to request contiuances' for maybe three minutes. He also reviewed my case after discovery and provided me his assessment on pleading non-guilty and going to trial VS pleading guilty. Would those services rendered demand more than the $1500 I've already paid him?

Depends on his hourly rate. You are woefully underestimation what a lawyer does and how much time it takes him to do. If he's getting $300 an hour he's probably at, or close to, the 5 hour mark.

Ask for an itemization of charges to date and a payment plan for the rest of it.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Depends on his hourly rate. You are woefully underestimation what a lawyer does and how much time it takes him to do. If he's getting $300 an hour he's probably at, or close to, the 5 hour mark.

Ask for an itemization of charges to date and a payment plan for the rest of it.

And, for future reference, in retaining a lawyer, make sure that the agreement includes how frequently they'll do this.

Also understand the billing increments, and that EVERY communication will be billed.

 

[quincy]

It is also a very good idea to sign a written contract with a lawyer spelling out the terms and scope of representation. I am not fond of attorneys who accept a retainer without a written agreement in place.

 

[Tomtsu]

Thanks for all the reply's. So the consensus seems to be that I should talk to my attorney, explain my situation, and see if he feels the $1500 I've paid him up to this point is fair compensation. If not, and if it's anywhere close to $3500 I'd owe him, I should just do whats necessary to get the money and have him resolve my case. If he's feels the $1500 is fair, then I could release him and perhaps seek a public defender at my next court date? That's another issue I'm unsure of... I'm assuming this would probably tack on a couple to the resolution of my case, but considering my financial situation, if a public defense option is available I think I'd happily take it.

 

[quincy]

Thanks for all the reply's. So the consensus seems to be that I should talk to my attorney, explain my situation, and see if he feels the $1500 I've paid him up to this point is fair compensation. If not, and if it's anywhere close to $3500 I'd owe him, I should just do whats necessary to get the money and have him resolve my case. If he's feels the $1500 is fair, then I could release him and perhaps seek a public defender at my next court date? That's another issue I'm unsure of... I'm assuming this would probably tack on a couple to the resolution of my case, but considering my financial situation, if a public defense option is available I think I'd happily take it.

It is not a matter of whether your attorney feels the $1500 is fair. It is a matter of your attorney showing he has already earned the $1500 and needs more money to proceed.

If you are indigent, you can apply for a public defender. The financial statement you submit with your application will determine your eligibility.

What you should get from your current attorney is a written detailed accounting of the costs expended by the attorney so far on your behalf.

Here is a link to the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct, where you can scroll down to Rule 1.5: Fees, and what is considered a “reasonable” fee:
http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/supremecourt/Rules/Art_VIII/ArtVIII_NEW.htm

Good luck.

 

[Tomtsu]

It is not a matter of whether your attorney feels the $1500 is fair. It is a matter of your attorney showing he has already earned the $1500 and needs more money to proceed.

If you are indigent, you can apply for a public defender. The financial statement you submit with your application will determine your eligibility.

What you should get from your current attorney is a written detailed accounting of the costs expended by the attorney so far on your behalf.

Here is a link to the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct, where you can scroll down to Rule 1.5: Fees, and what is considered a “reasonable” fee:
http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/supremecourt/Rules/Art_VIII/ArtVIII_NEW.htm

Good luck.

Thanks a bunch for the help Quincy. Now one more question. If I release my lawyer mid-litigation because I can't afford to pay him the full fee we agreed to verbally to resolve my case, what is to prevent him from coming up without an amount of money I still owe him, perhaps short of the $3500 we agreed to since the case has not been resolved, but far in excess of the $1500 I've already paid him? If I terminate his services and there is a dispute about what I may or may not owe him, detailed accounting or not, in the absence of a written agreement, how would that dispute be resolved?

Section b of rule 1.5 in the link you provided states:
(b) The scope of the representation and the basis or rate of the fee and expenses for which the client will be responsible shall be communicated to the client, preferably in writing, before or within a reasonable time after commencing the representation, except when the lawyer will charge a regularly represented client on the same basis or rate. Any changes in the basis or rate of the fee or expenses shall also be communicated to the client.

"Preferably in writing" seems pretty open to interpretation, and given my current financial situation, I won't have a leg a stand on compared to my lawyer if there's any potential adjudication in terms of what I owe him. I'd like to know what I'm getting into because there's no reason for me to think this guy won't try to get as much money out of me as he possibly can.

 

[quincy]

Thanks a bunch for the help Quincy. Now one more question. If I release my lawyer mid-litigation because I can't afford to pay him the full fee we agreed to verbally to resolve my case, what is to prevent him from coming up without an amount of money I still owe him, perhaps short of the $3500 we agreed to since the case has not been resolved, but far in excess of the $1500 I've already paid him? If I terminate his services and there is a dispute about what I may or may not owe him, detailed accounting or not, in the absence of a written agreement, how would that dispute be resolved?

Section b of rule 1.5 in the link you provided states:
(b) The scope of the representation and the basis or rate of the fee and expenses for which the client will be responsible shall be communicated to the client, preferably in writing, before or within a reasonable time after commencing the representation, except when the lawyer will charge a regularly represented client on the same basis or rate. Any changes in the basis or rate of the fee or expenses shall also be communicated to the client.

"Preferably in writing" seems pretty open to interpretation, and given my current financial situation, I won't have a leg a stand on compared to my lawyer if there's any potential adjudication in terms of what I owe him. I'd like to know what I'm getting into because there's no reason for me to think this guy won't try to get as much money out of me as he possibly can.

I recommend you start by getting from your attorney a detailed accounting of all costs expended so far on your case. Once you have had a chance to look this over, you will know better what next steps are best to take.

If what you are charged appears excessive to you (based on the attorney’s usual hourly rate), sit down with your attorney to discuss the amount.

In other words, start with your attorney and the bill. Go from there.