Questionable billing

[samserif]

My divorce attorney recently filed paperwork for a hearing. When the court set a date, he informed me that he wasn't available that date and that he would ask the court for a different date. That was fine with me and my spouse.

I recently got the bill for this change of dates: about $170. The items in the bill include: the attorney receiving the schedule from the court, noting the schedule conflict, talking to his paralegal about rescheduling it, the paralegal calling the court, the attorney sending an email to my spouse informing her of the change, and the paralegal sending a fax to the court.

Now, I've never had anyone in any other profession charge me when they discovered a scheduling conflict. Is this sort of thing standard practice in the legal profession?

 

[seniorjudge]

This sounds over the top to me.

Talk to your lawyer.

If that doesn't work, then try bill mediation through the state bar.

 

[samserif]

Thanks, I appreciate the sanity check. If this sort of thing were standard practice, then I'd conclude there are some pretty bad economic incentives for attorneys: scheduling conflicts wouldn't be bad but instead would provide new income opportunities.