Well, sorry for the delay. I have finally posted a copy of the letter of complaint which I recently sent to a state attorney disciplinary agency – there is a page for it in the menu at the top, you can just click here if you want to open in a separate window. This is a short one because of the new material.
When Bad Lawyers Happen To Good People
www.HowToSueYourLawyer.com
Archive for January, 2010
Fee Disputes
While it may seem like unethical behavior to you, it is possible that the problem you are having with your lawyer is better described as a fee dispute. It could be argued that everyone is in a fee dispute with their lawyer because they charge so much money! All money jokes about lawyers aside, fee disputes are different from ethics complaints, although they may be made to the same agency or bar association.
What are some of the reasons that you may have a fee dispute? The most common one is that you have paid your lawyer up front and, in the end, you don’t feel that the attorney “earned” all the money you paid, particularly if you are paying an attorney by the hour. Attorneys usually ask for a portion of their fees at the time you hire them. You need to be sure that you understand how this initial “retainer” is to be handled by the attorney. The retainer agreement should state if the initial deposit of money is “refundable” or “non-refundable.” Usually, lawyers bill against the initial retainer. For example, the lawyer charges $300 per hour for their services; you pay an initial retainer of $3,000.00; they work “against the retainer,” keeping track of all of their time and any billable expenses, until they use up the $3,000.00. Then you have to deposit more money on your account. See “I Have A Lawyer On Retainer” for more discussion about retainer agreements.
The bottom line is this — if you think you have been overcharged for the services provided (or not provided, as the case may be), you should first try to resolve the dispute with your attorney. I recommend doing these things in writing, especially if you are unable to resolve it with a simple conversation. If you do try to solve the problem in a discussion, make notes about the date, time and important points for your own records, just in case things don’t go well. If you are unable to resolve the issue and you feel you are owed money by a lawyer who will not give it to you, it may be time for a Fee Dispute.
Like ethics complaints, Fee Disputes are filed with the organization governing attorney licenses in your state. If they agree that you have a dispute, they will contact the lawyer with your concerns. If the problem is not resolved with a letter, they may schedule a hearing where you will have a chance to state your case. The lawyer may also be present. The hearing will probably be before a panel made up of other attorneys and possibly a member of the community (non-lawyer). Sometimes, if the amount of money in dispute is small, the case will be reviewed by just one person. A final determination will be made and hopefully, if you are owed money, the attorney will then pay you.
Or maybe they won’t. Most state bar associations have Client Security Funds to help out when the lawyer doesn’t pay (the attorney goes out of business or declares bankruptcy, for example). The Client Security Fund program will be discussed another day. And we will have further discussions about fees and fee disputes in the future as well. You work hard for your money and you want to be sure that your lawyer works hard for the money you worked hard for!
Ethics Complaints Part 2
In one of my recent entries, Ethics Complaints Against Lawyers, I reported that I made an ethics complaint against an attorney. In this instance, I was not the wronged party, but had set out the situation to the State Bar Counsel on behalf of a friend of mine. I received a written response back from State Bar Counsel, and I am not happy (but I am also not surprised). I was told that they needed more information and that they needed to receive the information directly from the wronged party. In my original letter, I had provided the name of my friend and her contact information. I sent her a copy of my letter to the State Bar and that was indicated at the end of my letter. When I called the office of State Bar Counsel, I was told it was “policy” not to speak to anyone who had written a letter and that I could only speak with the assistant, who was of no assistance whatsoever. She even had the nerve to ask me “why can’t your friend just do this herself; is she disabled or something?”
It is absolutely clear to me that this particular State Bar Association doesn’t really want to stamp out unethical behavior by attorneys. They will not even share the complaint with the attorney in question or pursue any investigation or action if my friend doesn’t tell them herself. I have informed the State Bar that serious unethical behavior, including crimes such as failure to pay wages, payroll and worker’s compensation taxes, has occurred, and they do not care because it didn’t happen to me.
In this particular situation, the State Bar Association, which all lawyers in the state are required to belong to and pay dues, is also the organization that pursues discipline against lawyers. There is not an arm’s length relationship between the governing body and the membership. In short, there is a conflict of interest!
I’m going to pursue this matter in some alternative ways. One of the things I will do is post a copy of my letter on this site in the next few days. I will black out the names (to protect the guilty), but I would like you to see the kind of behavior I am concerned about and how I constructed my letter of complaint. It may be helpful to someone out there who is considering filing a grievance against a lawyer in their state.
I’ll be checking in more frequently now that the holidays are over and 2010 is seriously upon us.
