Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

I hired a lawyer back in November for a case I was certain I would win. After several months of going back and forth to court, I feel that my lawyer has not done anything that I could not have done myself. My retainer fee was broken up into payments by post dated checks. He recently told me that I had a balance on the account for fee's that I was unaware of. (one being that I was being charged every time we spoke on the phone.) I told him I no longer needed him to represent me in court. He sent me my time slip breaking down all the charges and a Motion to withdraw as counsel forms. I never signed any contracts with this lawyer. Do I let him cash in the post dated checks written for March 1st and April 1st? And am I required to pay him the additional fees that I was unaware of??


Asked on 2/18/11, 9:10 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Mark Dunn Mark D. Dunn

The question of the "additional fees" would be answered by your fee contract. I understand that you never signed a written contract with him. Therefore, I would say that your understanding of the terms of the contract (the oral contract) would be what controls.

Exception: If he mailed you a written contract that you didn't object to. He may claim that that was an accurate memorandum of the contract even though it wasn't signed by you.

Go ahead and put in "stop payments" on the two post-dated checks (I've been a lawyer for 25 years and have NEVER asked a client for a post-dated check); write him a letter telling him that you've done this, and in that letter, send him a check for what you believe that you owe him.

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Answered on 2/19/11, 8:00 am


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