Legal Question in Construction Law in California

The bill should clearly reflect who did what work and what their normal billing rate is. The work should be described in enough detail so you know generally what was done. Most attorneys do not bill for the work done by secretaries, only associates and para-legals. If there was no retainer agreement then the attorney can only collect based upon the "value " of the work done. Local bar associations [county wide basis] have fee arbitration panels. It is worth the money to get advice from an attorney and perhaps even have one prepare a declaration as to the excesses and whether the outcome was worth the amount charges/or the work was worth the amount charged. You need to go through the billing sheets very carefully and point out any repetitive or questionable charges.

If you need any additional information, you can give me a call and the first 15 minutes are free [I care only $150 as I am semi-retired and have little overhead].

State Bar rules and the Business & Professions Code (see section 6148) require a written fee agreement (not a retainer agreement) when the lawyer's charges for legal services and case-related expenses is expected to exceed $1,000. Clearly a case with an $80,000 fee requires a written agreement between attorney and client.