Question by Need advice on my atty fees: Did my attorney overcharge me for filing motions, sepinas, etc? I knw its long, but please read & help me?
I am very unhappy w/ my atty & the way he represented me. To sum up my case: My fiance was attacked by 2 drunk random females, I tried to break things up in her defense & was attaked by a male from behind. We were wrestling on the floor when police showed up. One cop spurred me from behind and hit his forehead on the back of my head and he got a cut. I was arrested for disorderly conduct and told I would get out in a couple of hrs but later I was added on the charge of assulting a peace officer.
I really was just defending my soon2be wife & in no way was in the wrong. Im a bookeeper and have never been in a fight in my life. I have a clear record & I was sure I had a good case. But my atty’s attitude towards my case was the total opposite. At 1st he said he could help me, charged me 1500. retainer + add’l fees for any further work. But once I paid the retainer, he didnt even try. There was no other witnesses other than my fiance and I, so I told him to put me on the stand and i’ll testify cuz we were the victims. But he kept saying the facts were against me & I should just plea guilty and avoid a jury cuz I could be locked up for 2-10yrs.. I insisted I was innocent, but he never fought for me, just kept urging me to take a plea bargain so we didnt have to go to trial. I even drafted up about 11 diff points I came up w/ that he could use to defend us.. and im not even the atty. Thats what i was paying him for!!!
Anyway, I knew he wasnt goin to help me so by Gods grace, it turns out my mother knew a friend of the D.A & I ended up getting 6 mo. probation w/ deffered adjudication. He thinks it was his negotiations that got me that deal though.
So I finally got a final bill and he charged me additional 2,500.00 in extra fees on top of the retainer. He charged me 100.00 for EVERY motion (ex. motion for discovery, motion for probation, motion for a witness list.. ) He also charged me for “research on file for discovery”, “research on motion for probation” etc. Shouldnt he already know his stuff? This is his job, why am I paying him to learn? He also filed sepinas against 3 police officers The bill said his assistant took 1 hour to draft up each sepina @ 100/per hr. So I have to pay 300 bux for 3 sepinas .(which btw, never got served because supposebly the 3 cops were all on vacation and couldnt be found).. Now im not stupid, all the 3 sepinas are exactly the same , the only thing that changes is the names of the officers. So I understand it took 1 hr. to draft the 1st sepina, but the other 2 didnt take an hr. each.
Lastly, he also charged me for every call he made to me. Even when he left me a message, I am being billed for that also. I think this is outrageous. Now Ive never been in trouble or dealt w/ lawyers, so maybe this is normal, but I think its crazy how he is charging me. Shouldnt a criminal case be a flat rate.. just a certain price up front? I know my co-worker had got arrested for DWI & possesion of cocaine charges and he was charged a flat rate of 2800.00 for both. I only had one and im being charged 4,000.
Is there anything i can do, or is this legit? Im bearly making it & only agreed to go w/ him thinking 1500.00 was the bulk of the amt, and i’d only have to pay a little more in add’l fees…. Not another 2500.00. What can I do if i cant come up w/ this money? Can I go to jail? I really need some sorta advice on what my options are. Please help..
Best answer:
Answer by trai
Okay, first, yes, this is the normal billing for attorneys. Some charge by the hour, some charge a flat rate per case, some nickel-and-dime you for every little thing. All the fees are outlined in the contract.
Secondly, if you don’t pay it, the same thing will happen that happens for any unpaid bill. It will go to a collection agency, and if you don’t work out payments with them, eventually, they will sue you. In the US there is no such thing as debtor’s prison. Only ruined credit and bankruptcy.
Here’s the thing, though. You’re upset because the attorney didn’t “fight for you” but (s)he obviously did, negotiating a plea agreement that kept you outta jail. If your own attorney tells you “the facts are against you” then they are. You are guilty of disorderly conduct if you’re in a fight, which you admit, and you’re guilty of assaulting an officer if one gets hurt in that fight, which you admit, as well. Your attorney can’t waive a magic wand and make you not guilty. It seems to me as though that attorney did you a service, and deserves to be paid.
What do you think? Answer below!
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