Comments on: Fee Disputes http://www.howtosueyourlawyer.com/2010/01/fee-disputes/ www.HowToSueYourLawyer.com Thu, 03 Nov 2011 02:03:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: htsyl http://www.howtosueyourlawyer.com/2010/01/fee-disputes/comment-page-1/#comment-10 htsyl Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:39:26 +0000 http://www.howtosueyourlawyer.com/?p=79#comment-10 As you know, I cannot give legal advice as I am not an attorney. I would ask you if the attorney has taken ANY fees at all? What happened at the time the case was "settled"? Who are the settlement payments being paid to? Did you fire the lawyer and why? Did you have a retainer agreement that dealt with the fee structure changing from contingency to hourly if the lawyer was dismissed? When you say that the lawyer is "claiming" hourly fees, how is that being done, i.e., is he sending you a bill or refusing to pay you your portion? With some more information, we might be able to get a little further with this problem. All this having been said, I would say that this does sound like a fee dispute -- you may feel like it's extortion, but that's the way we feel about our lawyers a lot of the time! If you cannot resolve this disagreement, it would be wise to look into filing a fee dispute with the governing body for attorneys in your state. The more documentation you have, the better. As you know, I cannot give legal advice as I am not an attorney. I would ask you if the attorney has taken ANY fees at all? What happened at the time the case was “settled”? Who are the settlement payments being paid to? Did you fire the lawyer and why? Did you have a retainer agreement that dealt with the fee structure changing from contingency to hourly if the lawyer was dismissed? When you say that the lawyer is “claiming” hourly fees, how is that being done, i.e., is he sending you a bill or refusing to pay you your portion? With some more information, we might be able to get a little further with this problem. All this having been said, I would say that this does sound like a fee dispute — you may feel like it’s extortion, but that’s the way we feel about our lawyers a lot of the time! If you cannot resolve this disagreement, it would be wise to look into filing a fee dispute with the governing body for attorneys in your state. The more documentation you have, the better.

]]> By: Katie http://www.howtosueyourlawyer.com/2010/01/fee-disputes/comment-page-1/#comment-9 Katie Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:59:48 +0000 http://www.howtosueyourlawyer.com/?p=79#comment-9 I have an interesting situation, which my attorney describes as a "fee dispute" and I see as an extortion attempt. Simply put, my attorney was on contingency. The case settled and has settlement payments in installments. (The matter won't be officially dismissed until all payments finish). The lawyer gets fired, after the settlement but before dismissal, and now claims attorney fees based on hourly (quantum meruit) instead of contingency. Hourly fees being more than 100% more than the contingency. Is this a "fee dispute"? Have ever come across anything like this in your experience? I have an interesting situation, which my attorney describes as a “fee dispute” and I see as an extortion attempt.

Simply put, my attorney was on contingency. The case settled and has settlement payments in installments. (The matter won’t be officially dismissed until all payments finish).

The lawyer gets fired, after the settlement but before dismissal, and now claims attorney fees based on hourly (quantum meruit) instead of contingency. Hourly fees being more than 100% more than the contingency.

Is this a “fee dispute”? Have ever come across anything like this in your experience?

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