Legal Question in Bankruptcy in California

Re: Chapter 11 and attorney fees

First, I doubt that any attorney who knows anything about bankruptcy was going to take on a Chapter 11 bankruptcy for a fee of $1,500, nor even start the process with such a small retainer. Minimum retainers in Chapter 11s start in the $20,000 to $50,000 range depending upon type of case, and fees in completed cases often exceed $100,000 or more. For a fee of $1,500, you are probably talking about a chapter 7.

In either case, if you have a dispute with an attorney over his fees, you can call the California State Bar Association and demand fee arbitration. In the fee arbitration, the arbiter will decide if the attorney earned the fee, and if not, order he or she to return it to you. Have you written to the attorney and demanded the refund of the fees he charged, but essentially did not earn? That should be your first step, then demand that he submit the dispute to fee arbitration. You need to find out why the case was not filed. You may also have a case for legal malpractice if the attorney simply failed to perform his obligations to you as his client. There are short statutes of limitations on such types of cases, and so if you wish to pursue such a claim, you need to speak with an attorney right away, as you could lose the right forever to pursue such a claim.

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Re: Chapter 11 and attorney fees

If he was supposed to file the chapter 11 and didnt and it cost you your home, you may get potentially a lot more than your money back. You should contact my office.

Best,

Daniel Bakondi, Esq.

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