Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

Paying a Lawyer

I had recently sought a lawyer for divorce and had him represent me. He stated he would need $500 dollars to get started. A week later, decided I didn't really need him due to the fact that me and my wife agreed on most everything to end the divorce. I called him back to get him to withdraw as lawyer for my divorce. The lawyer my ex was using had stated all he had received from my lawyer was an acknowledgement of having received the original petition for divorce. So I asked my lawyer if he would be able to give back any of the money I had given him to start on my case. He went to look for my file and stated he couldn't find it and his secretary wasn't there. He asked if he could contact me the following week. I told him that would be okay. Well, next week came around and by Friday, he hadn't called me yet. I decided to call him and ask him about what we had talked about. He stated that he had asked his secretary and reviewed what all he had done for me and said he had already done more than the money I had given him already. I asked him how much more? He said he would forget about the rest if I wasn't going to use him anymore. Is there any way to find out if he overcharged me and should I get a summary of what all he did for me?


Asked on 12/08/06, 3:50 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
James Grissom Law Office of James P. Grissom

Re: Paying a Lawyer

I don't know whether you had a contract with your lawyer or not. Did the contract state an hourly rate? Maybe you didn't have a contract and the $500 was a flat fee. It doesn't take very much to use up $500 real fast. If you are really serious about your concern, you could file a grievance against the lawyer, but I doubt that would work out in your favor. Try it if you want to.

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Answered on 12/08/06, 10:42 pm


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