BAD ATTORNEYS--BAD BILLS!

It is hard to know what to do when you get a truly bad attorney. 

When I had to deal with a particularly bad one, I turned to the Statewide Grievance Committee.  But they didn't find probable cause in my grievance case even when I complained about actions by my attorney which I considered abhorent.  For example, refusing to meet with me or listen to my requests. 

One major problem that prevents you from holding attorneys accountable is when you accuse them of wrongdoing that others consider a matter of opinion.  For instance, if you say that the attorney didn't obey your instructions.  That's a waffly kind of wrongdoing others can argue with, i.e. maybe your instructions weren't good instructions!  Negotiating a bad deal for you.  Define "bad".  Again, all very waffly. 

But there is an area where you can nail your attorney for wrongdoing, and that is if they give you a bill which makes fraudulent claims regarding the services they provided and then use it as a means to overcharge you. 

There is nothing more black and white than a bill. When an attorney sends you a bill, he or she is affirming that what is stated in that bill is a fact. So when they make a claim in a bill that is contrary to the facts and you can prove it, those attorneys are in trouble.

I don't know about you, but when I was in the middle of my divorce and at risk of losing my children and ending up on the street, I was so upset you could have given me a bill for legal fees amounting to a million dollars and I would never have noticed. 

That's why I am talking to you about bills three years after I received the last set of fraudulent bills that I received.  Simply put, when I received them, I was so distraught that I didn't notice how messed up they were.  Now, I'm like, how could I have missed it!  And I realize that I can complain of all sorts of problems with an attorney and no one will care because they will consider it all a matter of opinion.  But everyone cares about the bills. 

Here are a selection of issues you can complain about in a bill and you will be listened to: 

1.  Double Charging:  This occurs when you are repeatedly billed for the same thing, particularly on the same day;

2.  Duplicative Time:  This is when two or more people do the same task at the same time.  For example, if two or more attorneys attended the same court hearing or deposition and you had to pay for both of them;

3.  Internal Conference or Communication:  This is where you are charged for one attorney talking to another attorney, or an attorney talking to a paralegal or secretary in regard to your case.  I suppose it would be OK to have such a conference now and then.  But when conferences like that take up most of your bill, I think you have a problem. 

4.  Overstaffing:  This happens when the firm uses multiple attorneys and other staff like paralegals and secretaries on your case.  This leads to increases in conferencing among all these staff members in order to keep everyone updated regarding what is going on in the case.  There may also be duplication of services and overlap in regard to what everyone is doing. 

5.  Wrong Bill or Client:  Sometimes, billing departments make mistakes and mix up your bill with another client's bill.  Or a legal firm may take last month's bill, change the date and send it to you as the present month's bill.  Don't laugh.  It happens!

6. False Charges:  This takes place when an attorney asks you to pay for services that were never provided in your case. 

Please note that a good sign that a legal firm may be churning your case is when the vast majority of charges are for activities that took place within the firm rather than in connection with the opposing attorney in the case or with the court. This means that they are probably not moving your case forward that much.

Take a look at your records, are there any disparities in regard to what your attorney states that he did and what your records state that he did?  Does he state that he had a meeting with you at a time when you were on vacation in Bermuda and unavailable?  Does he state that he drew up a mortgage document for you which you have no record of either needing or receiving?  If so, that is some of the best ammunition against an attorney that you will ever get. 

Nothing quite equals the power to damn an attorney like a false and/or improper bill. 

For further information in this regard, take a look at the website:  www.devilsadvocate.com, the brainchild of Attorney John W. Toothman, legal consultant, and the author of several books and articles regarding the attorney/client relationship.