- Jurisdiction
- California
My attorney lead me to believe that I was below my retainer amount during the 2.5 months that he represented me in a contract negotiation. I asked him several times about the bill, and he repeated'y told me he would send me a bill, but he never did. After my negotiations were completed, he sent me the final and only bill that was over 3 times the amount in the retainer and almost 50% of the contract amount I was negotiating.
My request for the bill were verbal, but I do have emails of him saying he would send me a bill and then never sent one.
I believe my attorney violated Business and Professional Code 6148 ("Upon request by the client, the attorney shall provide a bill to the client no later than 10 days following the request....").
Will the emails from my attorney saying he will send me my bill in a few days and then never sending them be enough proof in fee arbitration to prove that he violated 6148? If so, would that be enough to have the retainer amount be considered a reasonable amount for total payment? If not, what would I need to show/prove?
My request for the bill were verbal, but I do have emails of him saying he would send me a bill and then never sent one.
I believe my attorney violated Business and Professional Code 6148 ("Upon request by the client, the attorney shall provide a bill to the client no later than 10 days following the request....").
Will the emails from my attorney saying he will send me my bill in a few days and then never sending them be enough proof in fee arbitration to prove that he violated 6148? If so, would that be enough to have the retainer amount be considered a reasonable amount for total payment? If not, what would I need to show/prove?