Question about fees

[wildchld97]

What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania

I was arrested for a DUI last year. I retained the services of an attorney. He quoted me a total price of $1000 to represent me for the entire process. I gave him $700 down for the retainer. At the preliminary hearing I gave him the remaining $300. He showed up for my arraignment, (20 minutes late)but it was postponed.

The attorney sent me a "letter of precipe?" to take with me when my next arraignment date was set. He stated in his letter that he did not need to be there with me, as the letter was sufficient.

He then sent me a bill charging me $35 for this letter.

After I got that bill, I naturally assumed that he would charge me more for showing up at my ARD hearing. I would have called him, but I was afraid that he'd charge me for the phone call time as well. After all the fines and court related fees I've had to come up with to get through this...I couldn't afford to chance having to pay him any more...so I showed up for court alone.

My question is...am I entitled to any type of refund? I would think that $1000 is fairly excessive for spending only 15 minutes at a preliminary hearing and two minutes at a postponed arraignment even if you figure in an hour of travel time to both the preliminary and the arraignment. Should I pursue this matter? If so, how?

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania

I was arrested for a DUI last year. I retained the services of an attorney. He quoted me a total price of $1000 to represent me for the entire process. I gave him $700 down for the retainer. At the preliminary hearing I gave him the remaining $300. He showed up for my arraignment, (20 minutes late)but it was postponed.

The attorney sent me a "letter of precipe?" to take with me when my next arraignment date was set. He stated in his letter that he did not need to be there with me, as the letter was sufficient.

He then sent me a bill charging me $35 for this letter.

After I got that bill, I naturally assumed that he would charge me more for showing up at my ARD hearing. I would have called him, but I was afraid that he'd charge me for the phone call time as well. After all the fines and court related fees I've had to come up with to get through this...I couldn't afford to chance having to pay him any more...so I showed up for court alone.

My question is...am I entitled to any type of refund? I would think that $1000 is fairly excessive for spending only 15 minutes at a preliminary hearing and two minutes at a postponed arraignment even if you figure in an hour of travel time to both the preliminary and the arraignment. Should I pursue this matter? If so, how?

**A: you are not entitled to a refund.

 

[mellofello1]

pay another lawyer to sue the first lawyer ?? I think you're stuck. If it makes you feel better I payed mine $5000 and he didn't even show up twice. As a consumer it is nearly impossible to choose a good lawyer. How can we, not knowing anything about the law, discern who is a good lawyer and who isn't ?

 

[wildchld97]

pay another lawyer to sue the first lawyer ?? I think you're stuck. If it makes you feel better I payed mine $5000 and he didn't even show up twice. As a consumer it is nearly impossible to choose a good lawyer. How can we, not knowing anything about the law, discern who is a good lawyer and who isn't ?

My advice after careful reflection about my previous situation is that you don't NEED a lawyer at all if your state has an ARD program. First time offenders almost automatically get off with a huge amount of fines and DUI classes but NO jail time. If you KILL someone while drunk *or* you have a more than one offense..you might consider a lawyer, but that's about the only case I can think of that would warrant paying the sharks.

I didn't pay the S.O.B for his "letter of precipice" and I dared him to try. I got through school and I'm now on my way to passing my bar exam. My dance card is ready.

 

[JessiesGirl]

I don't understand. You paid a retainer of $1000. Do you think the billl for $35 is because the retainer was already spent? Didn't you receive a fee agreement when you retained him, because it sounds like the $35 should have come from out of the retainer you had already paid. Is that the only bill you received and did the bill indicate the $35 would be charged against the retainer? You should have another bill coming for the time he spent at the arraignment too, and it should be charged against the retainer as well. Check your fee agreement. Also check to see if the agreement contains language that the retainer is to be replenished monthly from your checking account or credit card...If you haven't received a final bill (if your DUI case is over) then when you do, whatever you haven't spent should be refunded to you.

 

[Just Blue]

My advice to JessiesGirl and to wildchild97 is that the statute of limitations is probably up since the original post that you necro-posted to is from April 2005.

Why would you revive a dead post?

Wildchild is the OP......S/he was giving a update.

Although I would question the "dance card" comment....

 

[Indiana Filer]

Wildchild is the OP......S/he was giving a update.

Although I would question the "dance card" comment....

I noticed my mistake as soon as I posted, but you were too quick, and caught me before I could get my post deleted!

 

[Just Blue]

I noticed my mistake as soon as I posted, but you were too quick, and caught me before I could get my post deleted!

'Cause I'm faster than a speeding bullet?? Am I SUPERBAY??

Question: If this OP was/is in Law school...How come s/he didn't know about the ARD program ?

My advice after careful reflection about my previous situation is that you don't NEED a lawyer at all if your state has an ARD program.

Do I smell a little b.s. in this post??

I got through school and I'm now on my way to passing my bar exam. My dance card is ready

 

[BigMistakeFl]

BigMistakeFl

You should be careful about hiring a lawyer. Don't just look at the yellow pages and don't just go to a lawyer because someone knows him. You need to find one who defends DUI cases. You can check with your state's bar for a recommendation. And when you do the first consultation, ask lots of questions. Ask what percentage of his cases are DUI, and what percentage of those has his client prevailed in. I wish I would have done this when it was my turn. The day of my hearing, my lawyer had another case in another courtroom. He told me to just tell the judge when my name was called that my lawyer wasn't there yet and to please skip over me for a few minutes. I don't think that helped my case any.

 

[JessiesGirl]

Ooops

I have my search settings set for postings 24 hours or newer and this one popped up on the screen. I did not pay attention to the original date of the post, just the LAST post on that thread. Didn't mean to revive anything inadvertantly. Op's update was recent enough to catch in my search.