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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Posts
    7

    Default Excessive Lawyer Fees and Paralegal Charges

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: MD

    I was charged with a crime: Talked to a friend who said his friend is a lawyer and he could help me out. Received an e-mail from the lawyer (friend of a friend) he asked what happened, and I explained it in one e-mail. He replied that he was licensed in a different state and could not help me, but he would recomend me to someone, in this e-mail he stated his rate is 350$ an hour, and he had spent .5 hours on the two e-mails thus far. I replied, that was fine and I would appreciate his referral services.

    Next e-mail I received from him was a referral for a lawyer in the state which I was charged, and a couple scanned pages out of CFR's quoting some of the laws and repercussions for my charge. I thanked him and contacted the lawyer he recomended.

    Couple weeks later I get a bill for 817$. 1 hour of his time at 350$ and 3 hours of his paralegal at 150$/hr for the research.

    Now I have already hired and paid the lawyer he recomended who did the same research the first lawyers paralegal did.

    I accept the fact that I owe him 350$ per his bill for his 1 hour as we agreed to, what I do not think I owe him for is a couple scanned pages from his paralegal which we did not agree to and I already paid the lawyer handling the case for.

    My plan is not to pay him above the 350$ which we agreed on, but what are the consequences? Does he have any right to charge me for services which I did not request and did not agree to?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Lawyer Fees

    If you didn't retain him to perform the services for which you are billed, inform him of that and see how he responds. If you did, you did.

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