My Lawyer is SCREWING ME!

Veronica

Veronica

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I just went up there and dropped off my paperwork with my lawyer and I asked if I was gonna have to pay anymore... due to the fact that we arent going to court.. and all she did do was write a paper and file it.. I have never met up with her face to face.. only with her assistant, which is free... So, why the hell do I have to pay 1000 dollars for her to write a fucking paper? This is damn ridiculous! I am soo pissed off right now. I JUST turned my second job down.. Telling them that I dont have to pay for my lawyer anymore, so there was no need in having a second job.. Now i am fucked! Ive already paid her $650.00. Only $500.00 of it went towards the $1000, So now I have to pay her the rest of the $500.00 owed... This sucks ASS!
 
That's ridiculous! When my ex and I got divorced ours cost us $798.00 and it was UNCONTESTED! The lawyers, on both sides, said it was because of all the legal issues we'd had when he beat me.
 
Has she given you an invoice explaining exactly what the $1000 covers? If not I would request one.

Seems like a hell of an hourly rate.
 
vshayes said:
I just went up there and dropped off my paperwork with my lawyer and I asked if I was gonna have to pay anymore... due to the fact that we arent going to court.. and all she did do was write a paper and file it.. I have never met up with her face to face.. only with her assistant, which is free... So, why the hell do I have to pay 1000 dollars for her to write a fucking paper? This is damn ridiculous! I am soo pissed off right now. I JUST turned my second job down.. Telling them that I dont have to pay for my lawyer anymore, so there was no need in having a second job.. Now i am fucked! Ive already paid her $650.00. Only $500.00 of it went towards the $1000, So now I have to pay her the rest of the $500.00 owed... This sucks ASS!
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V-

I work in a law firm and you're right, they come up with some CRAZY charges for shit people don't even understand. But that is the nature of business. Our divorce attorneys charge OUTRAGEOUS amounts just in retainer fees.

Have you paid a retainer?
 
That's pretty danged shitty for people who really have huge problems with exes and haven't much money to pay for filing anything against them.
 
I don't know the details of your case but being a paralegal I can tell you that if you signed an hourly contract and that is what she is using, $1000 isn't hard to rack up. Whether she goes to court or not, everytime she works on ANY documents related to your case, makes or takes any phone calls, mails something, ANYthing at all involving your case, the time ticks.

I know it can suck and you probably feel like she's not doing anything but there may be more involved than you realize. I run into that with a lot of my clients. I work in adminstrative law which is a little differant than family or criminal stuff but basics still apply. 98% of the time we use a contingent contract though. We don't get paid unless we recover past due money. The only thing the client is liable for at that point is the out of pocket expenses. We never charge up front either but a lot of attorneys. do.

I hope you get your stuff worked out pretty soon though before they empty your pockets any further.
 
At first, when I was in college, I wanted to become a lawyer. Mainly to deal with sex offenders who target children. As if I was on a personal mission to repair some things in my past.

But then, the more I thought about it, while I could pick and chose my cases, I more than likey wouldn't make much money, because I'd be so sympathetic to people who needed representation, but were low on funds, that I'd be doing too many cases pro bono! Also, who would I be to judge who was really guilty or not...?
 
She charges like $150. an hour. However, I have NEVER personally met up with her. She has only worked on ONE paper for me. I paid her 150 to file it with the courts and have it served. That is ALL she has done for me. She doesnt even return calls. Ive called twice and left messages and she didnt respond. I did send her an email once and she responded, but that was it. The 1000.00 was suppose to cover everything.. for the contempt of court and court fees.. So, since me and Joe wrote up a paper and signed it.. I would of figured that she woudnt need to do anything else.
 
Maybe consult another lawyer? I know it sounds like more money, yet they may be able to give you a better understanding of why she is billing you this much... Or they might be able to recognize this as a scam.
 
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