Tim
Valparaiso,#2Consumer Comment
Fri, October 13, 2006
Readers who are familiar with my normal response to complaints about law firms will tell you that I am normally pretty defensive regarding fellow members of my profession. But it sounds like this firm billed you for a lot of things that, from a consumer standpoint, you shouldn't have been billed for. If a firm decides to assign your case to a different attorney, which is common, they shouldn't be charging you for the new attorney's review of the file. And it sounds like their billing method goes by significant fractions, and definitely rounds up. To explain: law firms bill in fractions of an hour. Some bill by the 10th of an hour, some by the quarter hour, etc. Most firms round up. The consumer is better off with smaller fractions. In a 10th-of-an-hour firm, 5 minutes will cost you 1/10 of the lawyer's hourly fee. In a quarter-of-an-hour firm, 5 minutes will cost you 1/4 of the attorney's hourly fee, and you'll pay 2.5 time as much. Now THAT'S something your lawyer doesn't want you to know, especially if he's billing in half or full hours. This would explain why one firm is charging $200, and another $18, for something that, as the reporter accurately explained, takes about ten minutes. My advice would be to see if your state bar offers a fee arbitration program. It sounds like you may be entitled to a partial refund.
Tim
Valparaiso,#3Consumer Comment
Fri, October 13, 2006
Readers who are familiar with my normal response to complaints about law firms will tell you that I am normally pretty defensive regarding fellow members of my profession. But it sounds like this firm billed you for a lot of things that, from a consumer standpoint, you shouldn't have been billed for. If a firm decides to assign your case to a different attorney, which is common, they shouldn't be charging you for the new attorney's review of the file. And it sounds like their billing method goes by significant fractions, and definitely rounds up. To explain: law firms bill in fractions of an hour. Some bill by the 10th of an hour, some by the quarter hour, etc. Most firms round up. The consumer is better off with smaller fractions. In a 10th-of-an-hour firm, 5 minutes will cost you 1/10 of the lawyer's hourly fee. In a quarter-of-an-hour firm, 5 minutes will cost you 1/4 of the attorney's hourly fee, and you'll pay 2.5 time as much. Now THAT'S something your lawyer doesn't want you to know, especially if he's billing in half or full hours. This would explain why one firm is charging $200, and another $18, for something that, as the reporter accurately explained, takes about ten minutes. My advice would be to see if your state bar offers a fee arbitration program. It sounds like you may be entitled to a partial refund.
Tim
Valparaiso,#4Consumer Comment
Fri, October 13, 2006
Readers who are familiar with my normal response to complaints about law firms will tell you that I am normally pretty defensive regarding fellow members of my profession. But it sounds like this firm billed you for a lot of things that, from a consumer standpoint, you shouldn't have been billed for. If a firm decides to assign your case to a different attorney, which is common, they shouldn't be charging you for the new attorney's review of the file. And it sounds like their billing method goes by significant fractions, and definitely rounds up. To explain: law firms bill in fractions of an hour. Some bill by the 10th of an hour, some by the quarter hour, etc. Most firms round up. The consumer is better off with smaller fractions. In a 10th-of-an-hour firm, 5 minutes will cost you 1/10 of the lawyer's hourly fee. In a quarter-of-an-hour firm, 5 minutes will cost you 1/4 of the attorney's hourly fee, and you'll pay 2.5 time as much. Now THAT'S something your lawyer doesn't want you to know, especially if he's billing in half or full hours. This would explain why one firm is charging $200, and another $18, for something that, as the reporter accurately explained, takes about ten minutes. My advice would be to see if your state bar offers a fee arbitration program. It sounds like you may be entitled to a partial refund.
Tim
Valparaiso,#5Consumer Comment
Fri, October 13, 2006
Readers who are familiar with my normal response to complaints about law firms will tell you that I am normally pretty defensive regarding fellow members of my profession. But it sounds like this firm billed you for a lot of things that, from a consumer standpoint, you shouldn't have been billed for. If a firm decides to assign your case to a different attorney, which is common, they shouldn't be charging you for the new attorney's review of the file. And it sounds like their billing method goes by significant fractions, and definitely rounds up. To explain: law firms bill in fractions of an hour. Some bill by the 10th of an hour, some by the quarter hour, etc. Most firms round up. The consumer is better off with smaller fractions. In a 10th-of-an-hour firm, 5 minutes will cost you 1/10 of the lawyer's hourly fee. In a quarter-of-an-hour firm, 5 minutes will cost you 1/4 of the attorney's hourly fee, and you'll pay 2.5 time as much. Now THAT'S something your lawyer doesn't want you to know, especially if he's billing in half or full hours. This would explain why one firm is charging $200, and another $18, for something that, as the reporter accurately explained, takes about ten minutes. My advice would be to see if your state bar offers a fee arbitration program. It sounds like you may be entitled to a partial refund.