My adult industry lawyer is trying to screw me. What to do?
 

So, I came to this SF firm that specializing in adult industry with a few concerns ( regarding 2257, etc. ). They said to put a retainer of $2,500 and that should probably do it for all of my questions. Now they have billed me for about $6,500 and never told me that they went over the "budget". Also, they never told me they had to do research on very common issues that the attorney should have known off the top of her head.

What are my options?

hire another attorney to combat the $6500 bill....which will end up costing you about the same?

break his fingers

Obviously, you got a " good " attorney .... he knows the game ... of retainers and billing...

Aside from one I used for a criminal case, they ( the shark bottom feeder attorneys ) are all the same ...

And don't forget, they are cheap on tips ..... :)

:Oh crap

no wander lawyers have the rep of being lowest of the low :(

Sue them yourself in small claims court for breach of verbal contract and fraudulent billing. Represent yourself.

You probably should have kept track of the hours you were talking to them and asked them for estimates (of time) whenever they were going to bill time while you were not present.

They can provide a breakdown of exactly how each hour was billed. Ask for that and then see if anything looks suspicious.

didnt you sign a contract that listed the terms???
all attorneys charge out the ass for EVERYTHING.

i would say by and large its not his fault but yours

I did. I found many billing errors, however the biggest problem was them doing "research" on issues they should have already known answers to. They are taking me to "arbitration".

Contact the State Bar Association.

I assume if what you are saying is correct, that this conflicts with their Code of Ethics (you might want to first check the agreement you have with the attorney regarding billing).

So what is the firm/lawyers name?

ADG

I am sure you will be able to work something out, did you speak to them about it and bring up your concerns?

try to cut a deal with them for less? sometimes its possible cause they just want your money

The true punishment of a criminal (not referring to you in any way) is having to deal with lawyers.

I had the exact same situation with a lawyer not too long ago. Unfortunately I had something in process which meant I had no choice but to pay but in your case I would just not pay and file some official disputes.

Yes, many times. They just don't care. They want the money.

Austin Law Group in SF

Have you tried asking him nicely? I've had it happen twice over the years where lawyers charged me way too much. Both times I called and asked them respectfully what caused my bill to be so high. Both times they graciously lowered the invoice.

You should beat him with a bat and then rape him with a wrench.

It's been proven effective in Texas.

They said that they'd give me 25%, but that's still $3K+ of unreasonable fees!!!

Who is the lawyer that should've known the answers to your questions, but had to research them all?

My mainstream job keeps me very active in litigations. Under best case,we grossly overpay lawyers. Take the 25% and be satisfied you got that. You went to him because you needed him. I make it a point to never get into an issue with any lawyers. You won't win.

Are the cars from porn or the mainstream? The fact that over the years I do not know the answer means you probably want this a secret but if you wanted to spill it....

:winkwink:

I have two lawyers adult and for the condo assoc. The way it works is you pay a retainer, for that you can ask questions and get your calls returned. You start getting billed if you have to take some kind of action, letters,court etc.
If they have to research 6500 dollars worth on basic adult questions they arent adult lawyers.

that works up to 2 grand, but over that I find the only real satisfaction comes from knees, balls and eyes, depending how deep into my pockets you are :thumbsup

man, I'm sorry this has happened to you. Only advice I can give is in the future, check out Larry Walters, his office definitely does not need to result to sleazy tactic's to make money. They are good people there and are very good at what they do.

http://www.firstamendment.com/

Wow what a shitty situation. Hope you can sort it out man.

what i would do is have my partner call them up and ask them about legal representation for a company that asked for a deposit on work got details about job but offered no reasonable estimate on the job, then came back later saying it was an absurd amount of $xxxx (your bill)

When they say no problem they'll take the case and all that, pay em the $500 or whatever and then give them their own identity so they have to sue themselves.... They are going to have to settle out of court and I bet you wind up looking pretty good as well as your old bill :)

only one lawyer I would ever use in this Biz .. Paul Kent-Snowcell .. Been my lawyer for way too long and was instrumental in changing the obscenity laws up here in Canada .. is a fucking pro at 2257 .. BUT he is in Canada .. but worth every fucking cent .. ( which has been reasonable)

Well, there is a reason why lawyers are often associated with sharks and dogs and everybody hates them, but needs them from time to time.

Unfortunately most lawyers are greedy, but wasting even more money doesn't sound like a good option. Had a similar thing 2 years ago, expected 1.2k, paid 3k, they lost a customer, I learned a lesson.

And to think that this is what lawyers are supposed to protect you from.

How many hours did you realistically use them for? Email, phone, any communication you had with them?
WG

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Says here they will deduct from your retainer, so the second your retainer was up they would stop working... I'd print this out for your small claims court day.. its theyre policy clearly stated.. So you might not get any info out of them and yes it was a scam... but you won't owe them any more money.. than take this info and picket outside their office, and send to attorney general, BBB, etc

wait a second...
"they told you to give them a retainer of 2500.00..."


uhm.... in the world of the sane, that means you also had a retainer agreement with them which also spelled out these issues and how they would be handled, how much per hour you would be billed and how many hours were anticipated and so on.

The cars are from porn,,the plane,homes,boats and artwork are from mainstream. :winkwink:

That really does sound odd. Basic questions on a topic of which they should be very familiar? Definitely bring this up at the arbitration. Perhaps they will claim to have to research YOUR particular situation, but hammer home the fact that your situation wasn't special and that the answers should have been easily determined by those "experts."


Arbitration isn't bad. It is much less formal than a civil trial and they will give you every opportunity to explain your side of things.

Just make sure you present a sound, reasonable reason for being in arbitration. Do NOT just say that you think the information and answers were too expensive. Explain why you think you are being over-billed. Make sure to ask if they do the exact same research each time the same question is asked or if they become more efficient with their research over time. Also ask them what was so "unusual" about your questions that required so much "research."

Tell them that you will be happy to pay for their services, but you aren't willing to pay for unreasonable time spent on issues on which they should be familiar (without extensive research).

Good luck!

that's almost exactly the same as me!








j/k


So you are saying I should see, "Minte" whenever I need a big bag of money?
I could use one for this weekend!!!

Good eye. :thumsup

Hire misingonebrain to represent you.. just one week of him annoying them and I bet they would offer you money to drop the case.

Now THAT was funny!


I also just thought that you should make sure that the billing hours were done by the appropriate attorney levels. Like, does a $300-$500 per hour partner actually need to do the research that could have been done by a paralegal?

So, not only emphasize that the hours billed were too high, but see if they were assigning work to the appropriate levels of their staff:::

Partner
Associate
Clerk
Paralegal
Secretary
ETC.


Why should you pay a partner to research something that should have already been known, or that could have been done by a Clerk??


Again, good luck!

whats wrong with you people? he had a written agreement with them. it spells everything out. the website isn't a contract. the website offers a general overview of how they work and your interpretation of whaat you are reading is wrong. it doesn't say anything about what happens in the event that the retainer is spent.

do this..


do that...


do the other thing...

the guy should have a retainer agreement, signed by him which is standard operating procedure. the law firm did what they all do if you don't spell out those details... the spend more money and the retainer agreement addresses that.

i mean seriously... how stupid are you people to start talking about suing a large lawfirm about their basic procedures? first... you can assume they cover their ass... HELLOOOO! its a law firm. second, you need to see the agreement he signed when he retained their services before you could even dream to have an opinion.

anyone suggesting taking a law firm to small claims court is extremely naive. anyone saying "yeah, just represent yourself" in this little exercise in stupidity in suing a lawfirm is just an asshole. they can move the case out of small claims court (forget the name of this move) and they can bury you, then sue you for their own costs.

if you want competent legal advice... hire a competent attorney. unfortunately, this guy just learned a hard lesson that many of us have learned the hard way. most lawyers are pricks. most lawyers/lawfirms have annual quotas for billable hours and they'll fuck you in a second because the burden of proof is on you to prove otherwise and dispute everything.

Find a good lawyer and use him exclusively. In consideration for the volume of business he will be reasonable.

What sort of idiot are you?

If they move it from "small claims" to the Municipal Court, nobody gives a flying fuck. If this person feels like he was FUCKED, then let him sort it out in court. It won't be any more expensive for him if they move it out of small claims. And, it will just be in the Municipal court which is "pro se" friendly as well.


Do not back down to those fucking lawyers. They think they are so impressive, but in reality, they are fucking morons. I know this for a fact.


If you really feel as if you have been fucked, then fight for yourself!!!



Courts are very logical so do not fear them!

some would say you're an absolute retard. but not me. you're right. "courts are logical" and there is a lot of procedure... and that logic and procedure requires 6-8 years of education to understand. but that shouldn't hold back a socially retarded idiot with a gripe, who feels he's being taken advantage of in spite of an agreement signed by him that says otherwise. whats the worst that can go wrong? getting counter sued for 20K for their legal fees for filing a frivilous claim? not a big deal at all. who needs an attorney anyway??? just walk into the court with a magic 8 ball and go from there... you'll be fine.

you're a genius. lawyers have no idea how to hurt you with the system. thats not what they do at all. not being a lawyer.... then trying to sue a lawfirm, representing yourself is the smartest idea ever.

seriously... you're a genius.

really.

you are.

its not about "fighting" jackass. its not about "the will to fight". its about understanding what fights you can win and what fights you cant.

The last thing I would have done is post their name here to get dragged through the dirt on an issue that you may or may not win.

Um actually, that would be the porn industry. Oh the irony.

I didn't say anything that wasn't true.

http://homedir-a.libsyn.com/podcasts...ers_copy_1.jpg

ADG