Possible Lawyer Overcharge

**Enneone** · 04-14-2006, 03:58 PM

I don't know where else to turn so I have a question that alot of lawyers may not wish to answer. I had/have a lawyer that represented a malpractice case that involved my daughter. We lost I didn't know if the other side had paid him off to lose the case when there was no way on God's green earth that we should have lost due to one fact that the jury wasn't of our peers or what but, he told me that he wasn't charging me since we lost and the only thing that I needed to possibly worry about was paying a certain Dr that makes limbs for my daughter, and that maybe i should see on my own if i could make payment arrangements with him but that was at my discretion. He was also doing a different case that just paid out today in the sum of 40k. We went and he seemed to be a little shakey but I didn't think anything of it. Anyway, he showed us his fee of 33 1/3% which came out to 13,133.33 as well as a lien that we had for a dr that we have been having trouble with finding that could possibly be dead, amounting over 5200, and a lien for a $2,000 lien with interest on a loan that we took out against the law suit last year november. Then out of the clear blue sky he says that he is charging us $10k for out daughters previous case. Now there was never an understanding that we had to give him monies out of this law suit for the case that he said if we lost we owed nothing. Now all of a sudden he pours this amount on our head which left us with a little over $7,000. I really need to know can he do this. I signed thinking that I had to but my husband didn't sign the paper allowing that because that was never in the previous agreement and we still out of 10k. He never brought it to our attention that is what he was doing and we never aggreed to do so in the past. Is this legal for him to do?!?, Or is he doing something that is unethical/illegal and if so what steps shoulds we take to resolve this matter? How is it that we win a settlement of 40k and walk away with only 7k and our lawyer walks away with over 23k!?! Could someone please help me!!!???!!!!

**Mr. Knowitall** · 04-15-2006, 05:27 AM

Check your retainer agreements with the lawyer to determine what is permitted by those agreements. Did he itemize the $10,000 fee, or just assert the figure?

**veryirked** · 04-17-2006, 06:37 PM

I am glad mrknowitall can make out what you are talking about. Your post is not easy to understand!

**Enneone** · 04-19-2006, 04:16 AM

He just asserted the fee. There was never an agreement that we would give him monies for the lost malpractice suit and never did he say that we ever owed him for that case. The case is over 3 years dead.

**Mr. Knowitall** · 04-19-2006, 05:42 AM

His actions seem very questionable. But if he won't turn over the money you may ultimately have to sue him or attempt to get recourse through the state bar.