Just got a bill from an attorney that I interviewed. WTH?

[shoopy]

One of the attorneys that I interviewed last month sent me a bill for $60, for answering 2 post meeting email questions. These were generic, opinion questions, not something that would have him reaching for a law book.

This is the guy that I only saw for 10 minutes, the rest of the time being with his assistant. There really wasn't much time for question and answer. Regardless, is this a common practice? I guess fair is fair, but no one else charged for a post meeting email question.

[spidge]

If he did not make it clear at any point to charge you then I would think he is SOL. Do you recall if there was any reference to any further inquiries having fees associated with them? If he/she did do they have it in writing?

[kawh]

LOL. Since you aren't going to hire such a person, be sure to list him on your petition.

[AngelinaCat]

Did you have an understanding up front that you were there for a free consultation? If so, there should be no problem. However, that was that visit.

If you emailed questions AFTER this visit, and received answers, then that is probably chargeable in the eyes of the office staff. You need to go and talk with them and see if you can make an arrangement. Otherwise, include them on your petition.

[keepsmiling]

That's like a joke, right?
He obviously knows (or should) you are going to discharge that debt. Must be just trying to make some kind of point?
Good thing you didn't hire him!

[df04527]

Wow

[159515951]

Did you sign an agreement allowing him to bill you? If not, he's just creating a write-off wishlist.

[bcohen]

You're going to discharge this alleged "debt" in bankruptcy, right?

[AngelinaCatHub]

What a shark.

[HHM]

Keep in mind, with professional services, you pay for TIME. So even though in your eyes these were

These were generic, opinion questions, not something that would have him reaching for a law book.

Someone still had to take the time to read the email, figure who you were, review the notes from the consultation and write a response. Also, there is the overhead of having an email system and everything that goes along with that; so in that respect, it is perfectly reasonable to charge for responding to email regardless of the topic or difficulty of the subject matter of the email. If these had been more difficult questions to answer, all that would mean is more TIME.

HOWEVER, since you didn't hire this person, it is certainly questionable whether you are obligated to pay. Did you fill out or sign any paperwork at the initial consultation. Note, it is NOT required to have a signed retainer agreement to justify billing someone. It would still be valid if the attorney told you orally, this consultation is free, but if you contact me after the consultation with additional question, I will charge. The only problem with oral agreements is "proof", but not "validity". There is a pervasive myth that any agreements have to be in writing to be "valid", not true. If the attorney said, "If you contact me after this consultation, I will charge you" and you replied, "okay." Bam, you have a contract and it is perfectly valid. In fact, you wouldn't even have to say "okay". If the attorney actually said that, and you emailed him later, that would be the "assent" and there would still be a valid contract. I am not saying this is what happened, but I want to make the point that it is not technically required to have anything in writing. But, if push comes to shove, without a writing, it is very difficult to prove an agreement arose.

I wouldn't worry about it, as stated, it will be a debt that gets put into your eventual BK and it is unlikely the attorney's office is going to put much time in to trying to collect $60, you might get a phone call, beyond that, I can't imagine it is a good use of time.

Just a general comment about professional services, most people are not professionals and don't use professional services very much. So most people don't really understand how much time and work it takes to do what is "seemingly" a simple task. For example, a phone call. From the caller's perspective, they are calling in with a "simple" question that should take less than a few minutes. (1) someone has to answer the phone (that costs), (2) figure out who you are, (3) make sure you are a client, e.g. verify you are in the database, (4) discuss with you why you are calling to determine how to route your call. (5) if an attorney needs to speak with you, he will need to (a) review your file, all the notes and information to prepare, (b) take the call, (c) find out why you are calling. (6) Now we are at the point of you asking your question. In the legal world, there really are no "simple" questions. And nine times out of ten, any question a client asks will usually require the attorney asking additional questions or going back to the file to review some facts. Then after the call, the attorney will need write up a note in the file detailing the phone call as will the assistant who took the call. Most phone calls require some sort of action after completion, (e.g. need to update petition), so a to do gets set for some future task, and so on.
Now, multiply that by 200 clients.

So, caller calls in and asks, is my car exempt, it is worth $X. Attorney: I don't know, what kind of car do you have. How much is it worth. Where did you get that value, was that value for "clean" condition or "fair" condition. What sort of condition is it in. Are there any loans against. Are those loans reflected as a lien on title. Do you have a copy of the title?
Or, caller calls in, my grandfather just died and left me and my two brothers his house, is that going to be a problem....where do I begin? That question just triggered hours of work.

There really are no "simple" questions. Because on the professionals end, he really has no idea who you are when you call, so every time you call your attorney, he generally has to relearn your case by looking at its history.

[kawh]

When you think about it logically, that lawyer probably amasses many of these "bad debts" because they are deductible.

It's a smart decision for him in the short run, altho bad for his business in the long term.

[ksgirl38]

Could it just be a billing mistake by someone in the office? Seems rather odd.

[LadyInTheRed]

HHM, great post about the realities of attorney billing. Based on the facts we know, it may seem odd that this attorney sent a bill. But, when you go for a free consultation, it is likely the attorney will ask you to sign at least one document. Make sure you read and understand any documents BEFORE you sign them and take photocopies with you. You may sign a statement that you understand that your relationship with the attorney does not go beyond the consultation unless you sign a retainer agreement. It may also be an agreement that the consultation is free but any advice you receive after you step out of that consultation will be billed at the attorney's hourly rates. We don't know what if anything the OP signed. It would be decent for the attorney to make clear that the clock is running, but that isn't required.

$60 sounds like a bargain to read and respond to 2 emails. I'm a paralegal and $60 is less than 15 minutes of my time. I am very expensive for a paralegal, but am not expensive compared to many attorneys.

[pamkev]

Lady,
I'm sure your worth more than what you charge

[LadyInTheRed]

Lady,
I'm sure your worth more than what you charge

Aw, shucks! Thanks.