Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Excessive attorney fees

If you think you have a valid gripe, you can file a Fee Dispute with the local county Bar Association, and they will help you. Look them up in your phone book.

Re: Excessive attorney fees

I don't know what your contract says, but it most likely would have required the lawyer to do a lot more work had charges been filed against you. Had you been facing charges, would you have been willing to let the lawyer out of the agreement so he could charge you more?

When clients and lawyers sign flat fee agreements, the client usually hopes the lawyer will end up doing enough work to make the fee a good deal for her. The lawyer usually hopes the case will end quickly enough to make the fee a good deal for him. Neither knows ahead of time how things will pan out, and the uncertainty is what leads them to make this type of deal. Later on, at least one of them may end up feeling they had made a bad bet. That is not reason enough to negate the deal.

In this case, things turned out the way the lawyer wanted. That doesn't mean your deal was unfair, and it doesn't mean the lawyer should let you out of it.

Of course, I might see things differently if I knew more about the case, including the terms of the contract.

Re: Excessive attorney fees

You can send me a copy of the agreement, and I will give you my opinion. My contact data is at http://dinday.com/contact.htm