Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Need advice

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Need advice

    My lawyer is not invoicing me and after asking her several times that for over a 1-1/2 month I have not received an invoice and behind it she is unnecessarily creating separation agreement documents with clauses that the other side will not agree. With every response from the other side lawyer (legal aid), she prepares another revision to the separation agreement with some more changes. To me it all appears that she is just billing the hours and creating unnessary hurdles that can prolong the process and in turn she can get as many hours of work as possible, without even invoicing me. I have already asked her to stop this back and forth stuff, as I don't trust her judgement. In the end I will for sure receive a huge bill.

    Now guys, can a legal firm just continue to work on the case even if they have exceeded the number of hours of works for which they have the retainer. Like, I have given a retainer for $1500 and when I signed the agreement then she told me that if the amount goes below $1000 then she will stop work. Obviously she is continuing to work and billing me, as she knows that I am not happy with her work and will fire her.

    So any advice, on what can I do. If I get a bill of $4000, then obviously this is way exceeding the retainer. Even they have provided me a bill, so am I still obligated to pay whatever she bills me.

    Looking for some advice.

    Rao

  • #2
    Hopefully you have been instructing her to stop in writing for example via email. You have an absolute right to your billing info, and you have an absolute right to control work on your file. Your lawyer is "thrashing", and you have just cause to file a complaint with the law society. You will have 90 days after you receive the bill to file for an assessment, so do not delay. In the meantime contact the Law Society regarding your general complaints and mention everything you wrote here. Your first step was to ask your lawyer, you have your respose already, she has not stopped the work and not sent the bill. Call the Law Society and get a file opened and then when you get your bill the assessment will be quicker.

    I would not worry about hurting your lawyer's feelings, you do not want to continue with your lawyer under these circumstances. Even if your lawyer feels they are doing the right thing, they are not communicating this to you properly. You cannot work with someone like this. It is like going to the dentist for a cleaning and they end up extracting several teeth while you are under anesthetic.

    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