Legal Question in Family Law in Florida
firing my attorney
i'm at the end of my divorce just waiting for judge to sign final judgement, and attorney fees to be settled on. My attorney who has been over charging me($16,000.) for a divorce is wanting to place a charging lien on my settlement funds. (SHE HAS ALREADY BEEN PAID OVER $6000 AND MY SETTLEMENT IS ONLY$30,000) sO SHE HAS A TELEPHONE HEARING ON THE 4/16/08 FOR ANOTHER APPROXIMATELY $10,000. What should I and can I do? I have billing showing that i'm paying for everything being done at $250 an hour. All the paralegal work is also being charged at the attny's rate. I want to just fire her and take my chances at the attny fee hearing. What should I do?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: firing my attorney
The law greatly favors lawyers when it comes to charging liens, so you'd be well off to hire an attorney to fight her on her bill. If you fight her on your own, your odds of winning are probably slim.
$250 per hour is a pretty reasonable rate for a lawyer, but it's a very high rate for a paralegal, and a judge may reduce the bill because of the paralegal rate.
Unfortunately, you wont be able to just fire her and walk away fom the money you owe her, but you may be able to have the amount reduced.
Re: firing my attorney
If you think the fee is "excessive" you can also go to the Florida Bar with your complaint. But an agreement is an agreement which the attorney can enforce. If you signed a fee agreement the judge will probably enforce it. It should have set forth the charge for paralegal's services. Get an itemized bill.
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