Legal Question in Legal Ethics in New Jersey
How much is too much for a lawyer to legally charge?
Our case went to court, (after 4 years), in March 2000.
There were 10 orders from the Judge to wrap things up. An Administrator was employed to administor these proceedings. There were to be sanctions for any party not complying within 10 business days.He told us it would be closed in 45 days.We complied, the other party not only did not comply, but brought up new objections, failed to respond to the Judge/administrators pleas, motions needed to be filed. No sanctions ever imposed, it went back to court only to have the Judge send the lawyers away to end this preposterous case that now was 3 1/2 years old after March 2000 Court Order.Resulting in additional fees: Admin/$9K+, Lawyer/$4K; Remaining Estate to us: $8K, Other $400. Fair for 3 1/2 years of getting nothing accomplished w/ no sanctions ever imposed on the guilty party?!Fair to let the guilty party keep this case unresolved? Lawyers also cleaned up for the previous 4 years of delaying a clean cut case. Many times phone calls weren't returned while they were delaying the process. Is there a percentage limit that the lawyers can rightfully take in NJ compared to the final amt. a client finally gets? This is a nightmare.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: How much is too much for a lawyer to legally charge?
Your question appears to pertain to the law of the State of New Jersey and you have submitted your question in LawGuru for responses from Maryland attorneys. As a Maryland attorney, I can speak only of Maryland law.
In Maryland, ethics rules set forth that fees must be reasonable. The reasonability of legal fees depends on many matters such as complexity, time involved, ability of the client to cooperate, advesarial matters, etc. This is largely a fact based inquiry.
As to response to calls, Maryland law again requires reasonable promptness. There is no bright line answer in Maryland. However, it is a violation of ethics rulings, in Maryland, to NOT return client calls. There is a duty to keep the client seasonably informed.
Your question also presents issues with propriety and zealousness with representation.
You should contact the bar association and law licensing authority of the state of New Jersey to discuss how to proceed with making a complaint. Based on what you indicate, Maryland law appears to not apply to the matter.
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