Flarpl

[Rodgerdodger]

I signed a flarpl under duress back in october 2012, before I could negotiate my outrageous attorneys fees down. the day I signed, my lawyer had 5 hearings calendared a month out and threatened to quit for non-payment unless I signed it. I had no money, so I signed to keep him on the case. at that time we did not discuss a dollar amount and I didn't recall seeing one on the document. he didn't give me a copy of what I signed and I've since asked for it several times to no avail. now that the case is over he is proceeding to record it and I noticed on the 15-day declaration to my ex and her attorney that the lien is for $100k. at best I feel I owe him no more than $50k. he actually made my fiance, who is not a lawyer, or licensed paralegal, but a stay at home mom, come into his office and do all of the work including write 150 page motion to compel (while he continued to charge me over $3k per week) he said if she did most of the work it would keep my bills down. in all he got two documents set aside to the tune of $140,000 (I already paid him $20k) the docs were a quitclaim deed and marital settlement agreement, and my fiance's work did not keep his fees down. he has since taken all future hearings off calendar pending re-calendaring when appropriate. he is now requiring my signature on the declaration giving 15 days notice to the other side that he intends to record the flarpl. then he is going to quit. is there any way i can prevent him from recording the flarpl at that amount of $100k? any advice would be helpful as I am out of money.... thanks

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I assume that when you say FLARPL you mean a Florida Real Property Lien on the property so that the attorney would be able to ensure he or she is getting paid. I don't blame him entirely because you'd be surprised how many times clients (whom you even may have been friends with prior to the case) will end up not paying their bills for services rendered as a result of one reason or another.

With regard to the fees themselves, what is the problem? Is it the rate? Did you not sign a retainer agreement? Did you not agree on a certain hourly amount or another formal arrangement? After all, you must have known that the services were going to be rendered at a certain rate and that the attorney would be paid something. If you're disputing the hours, that's a different story. You should formally dispute them in writing if you object. You should also let the attorney know that he might not permitted to quit representing you as a lawyer in the event it would significantly prejudice your case. In most instances, reasonable advance notice is required. In addition, if you're telling me that those two items cost you $140,000, I'd question the amount of the attorneys fees. Most attorneys I know don't inflate the costs and practice prudently. But in the event you feel quite certain that the bills you were provided are outrageous because they do not reflect work actually done and completely out of the range from which you were represented, you can let him know that you might want to have the bar association review the specific circumstances. I would not report an attorney unless I was very sure that the fees were unwarranted, e.g. this case might have involved questionable past decisions you've made which resulted in numerous hearings that you were told about just to get these two documents set aside.

So without knowing the facts of your case, I can't say for sure the best manner to pursue your remedies except (1) make sure you have a retainer or let the attorney know that you were required to have one; (2) review whether the work is fairly represented on the bills; (3) make formal complaints to your lawyer regarding the bills. That's what you can do before taking other actions.