Legal Fee question

Thewitheredowl

Hi All,

Have just been through a personal injury claim with a solicitor, where I won the case and my costs were awarded to me also.

My solicitor furnished a bill for his costs that were not covered by the amount that was awarded in the courts, namely for Legal Practitioner - Client costs

They have charged me for a huge amount of emails. approx. €50 per email.

I went back through the emails from them and can see about 30 of these that say maybe 'thank you' or agreeing to a time proposed by me to call in and see him, or to take a phone call from him.

For example,

He will mail and say 'can you arrange to call in and see me' - €50

I reply and say 'I can do it Wednesday at 14:30'

He will reply 'That's great - see you then' - €50

And then will charge me €130 for the visit to his office

There are many multiples of this type of exchange and it has amounted to a decent four figure sum for these emails

I understand that there are some pertinent emails in there, which are required to progress the case and I'm not disputing paying for those, but what are your opinions on the exchange above

And then lastly, when the claim was being heard in court, he charged me for his presence at the court. He was emailing me with offers and counter offers while my barrister was negotiating. He charged me for each email in this negotiation conversation, even though I was paying him to be there in the court on my behalf already. Is this normal?

Thanks for any advice

JVince

I'd challenge this and ask for where you agreed to these fees and simply say that €50 for an email reply is extortion.

It should have been set out at the beginning and smacks of a solicitor taking advantage and pure greed. He would have got plenty in the court costs.

I could accept if there was an advice email that took time to write, but charging for standard reply email and to/from emails on negotiation is ridiculous.

Thewitheredowl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122394861#Comment_122394861

Thanks for the reply. He got twice the amount that I got after all was said and done.

I signed a form which outlined potential costs, and I'm ok with that. I understand emails are required to move things along in a case and there is time spent by a solicitor to send a mail and maybe print it off and attach it to a file. I'm just questioning the validity of charging me for a response or an acknowledgment during an email exchange, that takes no skill or knowledge to produce.

I'm thinking of initiating a dispute to the costs to the LSRA, just wondering are my concerns valid in advance of that.

downtheroad

Check what is written in the S150 letter that should have been given to you at the start of the engagement.

€50 for an email saying thank you is obscene. It is in their interest to flood your inbox with nonsense emails. If it was the other way around and he lost €50 per email he wouldn't have been sending that volume to you.

Ted222

Can you expand on how they distinguish between the two sets of costs? The costs that were covered and the costs that weren’t?

Risoc

I have a contrary legal fee question. Should I tip my solicitor and his legal assistants? Just finished a small to moderate civil action. Whilst I was about satisfied with the outcome, I was very happy with the service and advice given throughout aswell as the number of times he met with me. I was thinking of a small token for each of them at the nearest cafe. Is this inappropriate? Or possible so minuscule that a professional mightn’t even use such a voucher?

phildub

That is a lovely gesture and would be greatly appreciated

Claw Hammer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122396701#Comment_122396701

The paying party only has the pay costs that are absolutely necessary. Thye costs adjudicator may only allow 1 consultation as being essential and won't allow others. Call to check on how things are going are not regarded as essential and won't be covered. If the o/p thinks the costs were too high he can have them adjudicated.

Ted222

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122394938#Comment_122394938

It might be that 50 euro per piece of correspondence is a rule of thumb. Some pieces of correspondence on their own would cost more in terms of time spent putting them together while other pieces (e.g. acknowledgements, etc) would take far less.

A fixed amount per email saves the bother of going through each email and attributing a variable cost to each one.

Just a thought.

downtheroad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122449586#Comment_122449586

It's a scam. It leaves the client open to receiving emails such as "Thanks", "Noted" and other emails that take 2 seconds to type and send.

If that fee policy was clearly outlined at the start it would be challenged by every single client.

Woodcutting

How did you get on OP?

Thewitheredowl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122508258#Comment_122508258

Didn't get anywhere with him unfortunately. He was quite condescending and almost laughing at me for asking. So I will try a different approach now instead. Won't be a quick process, but I'm ok with that. At this point even if I don't get anything back I'd be happy just to give him a few headaches to deal with the claim.

Claw Hammer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122509146#Comment_122509146

Why have you not sough adjudication?

Thewitheredowl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122528683#Comment_122528683

Because I read that if I go down that route and it's found that I have not been overcharged by a certain percentage, that I would be liable for costs of the process.

I'm not entirely sure how it works, and I don't want my dealings with this man to eat even further into the settlement figure than they already have.

Babyreignbow

you can make a complaint to the Legal Services Regulatory Authority for excessive fees. https://www.lsra.ie/

Calahonda52

I would let him sue you and your sworn affidavit should deal with all of this, especially the court stuff.