Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Reprimanding your lawyer

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Reprimanding your lawyer

    My partners lawyer has dropped the ball twice now on a couple things. Not major but it gives pause to someone concerned about legal fees. We discussed back and forth about expressing his displeasure and he pulled the trigger and let his lawyer know he was worried about the issues as well as stating he expected a credit for the time spent not getting these things done.

    Bad move or something clients have to do? Thoughts are welcome!

  • #2
    Great question. The answer is that once your lawyer has your retainer, he has you "by the balls".

    As you are reprimanding him, he charges you $. He can respond at length to your concerns and charge you $$$. He can give you the $ credit you are seeking and charge you $$ elsewhere to make up for it.

    Is it a good idea to reprimand your lawyer? That depends how much of an asshole he is. And one pretty much have to be an asshole to do the job of a family lawyer. Do the math on that.

    One piece of potentially useful advice I can offer is that, depending on the complexity of the matter, it might be good to get a second opinion from another lawyer without firing the original lawyer. They are usually nicer to you before they get your money and sometimes you could get something good out of that consultation.

    Comment


    • #3
      Hes not firing him. He simply pointed out that he has paid twice for a service that has yet to be delivered especially when it was done on the lawyers advice to begin with. If its a problem with his schedule then he should stop telling him to come in quickly to get the matter done. If its a problem with lack of admin support then he needs to find new staff. He shouldnt be making promises to complete a task that he cant keep. The clock is ticking. Overall he is an excellent lawyer its just these two instances caused us to question his response.

      Comment


      • #4
        You can dispute charges with most lawyers, and if they are reasonable they will discount their bill.

        If they refuse, look for a new lawyer.

        Comment


        • #5
          I agree, a reasonalbe lawyer will be accepting. My lawyer forgot to inlcude something on a document and when I pointed it out, apologized, fixed it and didnt charge me for the time to fix it.

          It also helps if you point it out in a non threatening way. If it is a clerical error, you could say, I think the clerical staff might have missed x, as already paid for this twice but I didnt get x.

          Comment

          Our Divorce Forums
          Forums dedicated to helping people all across Canada get through the separation and divorce process, with discussions about legal issues, parenting issues, financial issues and more.
          Working...
          X