Attorney said not to expect more than $7-8k from settlement, didnt tell me his fees were that much

marc arr

New Member
Jurisdiction
Iowa
basically the title. you could say "well he didnt know" but this isnt his first rodeo and when we talked last year he was utterly insistent on me not expecting a net of more than $7,000-8,000 which i thought was low but, meh, win some lose some and i thought maybe i should trust his judgement. fast forward to this month, i finally reach an agreement with ford motor co and attorney's fees are $7,700, settlement is $15,000 and meaning i would net $7,300 but am still responsible for the court costs of about $200 so netting about $7,100 in all. more to the point, last year when he said not to expect more than 7-8k, he said "even if your engine falls out of your truck," id still only get like $7-8k. didnt say a word it was because he himself charges about that and in my case even more than what ill net. seems kinda shady. what should i do now? i requested a log or some documentation of the charges 11 days ago and he said he would get to it when he could, said he had a trial last week, still no word. is it normal for an attorney to charge that much in fees? if something is up, i want to dispute it based on facts, tia, used the federal lemon law and claim is currently in the state of Iowa in County Court
 
is it normal for an attorney to charge that much in fees?

Whether the fee is reasonable depends on (1) the terms of the fee agreement you had with the lawyer and (2) how much work the lawyer had to do on your case. As I don't know what the terms of your fee agreement were (for example, whether it was a contingent fee agreement or an hourly fee agreement, and what the contingent fee/hourly rate was) nor what work the lawyer put into it, I cannot say if the fee is justified. Start by reading the fee agreement you have if you've not done that yet.
 
Whether the fee is reasonable depends on (1) the terms of the fee agreement you had with the lawyer and (2) how much work the lawyer had to do on your case. As I don't know what the terms of your fee agreement were (for example, whether it was a contingent fee agreement or an hourly fee agreement, and what the contingent fee/hourly rate was) nor what work the lawyer put into it, I cannot say if the fee is justified. Start by reading the fee agreement you have if you've not done that yet.

I looked and there is no signed fee agreement at all. None. The relationship originated when I put my information in to a was a popular lemon law website, his office contacted me because of that and to date I have put no signature in writing at all. The attorney has not offered any sort of fee agreement whatsoever, it has been 10+ days since I asked for a breakdown of charges and now I get the impression it was taken up on a contingent basis and he would deduct his fees from the settlement.
 
I looked and there is no signed fee agreement at all. None. The relationship originated when I put my information in to a was a popular lemon law website, his office contacted me because of that and to date I have put no signature in writing at all. The attorney has not offered any sort of fee agreement whatsoever, it has been 10+ days since I asked for a breakdown of charges and now I get the impression it was taken up on a contingent basis and he would deduct his fees from the settlement.
Never hire an attorney that trolls for clients on forums...actually never hire any professional that troll for clients/customers on advice/complaint sites.
 
Wondering how "trolls for clients on forums...actually never hire any professional that troll for clients/customers on advice/complaint sites" = "The relationship originated when I put my information in to a was a popular lemon law website"

I mean I cant figure it out but maybe you can show me how one means the other?
 
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Wondering how "trolls for clients on forums...actually never hire any professional that troll for clients/customers on advice/complaint sites" = "The relationship originated when I put my information in to a was a popular lemon law website"

I mean I cant figure it out but maybe you can show me how one means the other?

"...The relationship originated when I put my information in to a was a popular lemon law website, his office contacted me because of that..." Tat's what you stated.

You put your info online, he checked the website, and contacted you = trolling for clients online
 
"...The relationship originated when I put my information in to a was a popular lemon law website, his office contacted me because of that..." Tat's what you stated.

You put your info online, he checked the website, and contacted you = trolling for clients online

So someone having a website where you can input your information securely because theyre a lemon law attorney means trolling for clients? Interesting. I guess everyone with a website is just trolling, then?
 
Now you're just arguing for the sake of arguing. Let's stop that and get back to your original question.

And the answer is:

You failed to ask about fees at the beginning and left yourself open to be charged whatever the attorney wants to charge.

If you aren't happy about that you can file a fee dispute with your local Bar Association.
 
Actually, the attorney's fees would be about the same if this accident had happened in California. Some lady hit me on my scooter several years ago and my attorney got about half of my total settlement of 15000. How much did you expect to pay your attorney? Think about this: without an attorney representing you, chances are you would have received substantially less from the other side.
 
he was utterly insistent on me not expecting a net of more than $7,000-8,000

settlement is $15,000 and meaning i would net $7,300 but am still responsible for the court costs of about $200 so netting about $7,100

Ok...and...$7,100 is in the $7,000-8,000 range, so what's the problem?

what should i do now?

You'll have to explain your concern a bit better. In doing so, you explain whether the attorney charged you an hourly rate or on a contingent basis. If the former, what was the hourly rate. If the latter, what was the contingent fee percentage. Also, please tell us about your discussions at the outset of the representation in response to your question(s) about how much the attorney's fees would be.

is it normal for an attorney to charge that much in fees?

Please define the word "normal." I have rarely been involved in a lawsuit where the fees were that low. Whether this is "normal" for lemon law cases in Whoknowswhat County, Iowa is something only a local attorney can answer intelligently.

I looked and there is no signed fee agreement at all.

Why did you allow this attorney to represent you without a written agreement?

Actually, the attorney's fees would be about the same if this accident had happened in California.

Why do you think your personal injury case is relevant to the OP's lemon law case or representative of all such cases in California?
 
I looked and there is no signed fee agreement at all. None.

That's male bovine hockey.

No lawyer in their right mind is going to do more than a lick of work for you without some form of legally binding agreement to represent you. Go back to the website: you probably agreed to the Terms of Use.

You might not have physically signed a piece of paper, but you most certainly clicked "Yes" in a few places, including to a statement to the effect of "I realize that be entering by my name here that I am effectively signing my name electronically." It's up to you to keep track of what you signed electronically.
 
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