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Whenever I do a seminar for attorneys on ethics, I always tell them that there are three things they should especially avoid doing: drugs, sex with a client, and messing with a client’s money.  I tell them that if they are caught doing one of these three things, they will find that harsher discipline will...

If you were to ask a group of lawyers to name an ethical rule that applies to billing for fees, I would suspect at least 90% would name Rule 1.5 Fees - probably because it is the only ethical rule that has the word "fees" in the title! Now ask those same lawyers to name other ethical rules...

Here are a few tips to follow to save on legal costs when dealing with your attorney. Insist on Using E-mail. Always insist that the attorney communicate with you by e-mail instead of by letter. Studies have shown that using e-mails versus letters always save time. And saving time means you save money. Ask Questions of...

If you have identified the specific legal billing issues you object to and have determined that you have adequate grounds for objecting, the next step is to communicate directly with your lawyer.  In communicating with your lawyer on legal billing disputes, it is important that all communications be in writing. If communications are by phone or...

Two of the more common issues encountered when reviewing legal bills are "over lawyering" and "over staffing." Over lawyering occurs when a lawyer does too much legal work in a case and over staffing occurs when there are too many lawyers doing legal work in a case.  While they are different concepts, they nevertheless are considered...

The law profession is just not overcrowded, it is vastly overcrowded.  Many factors contribute to this, but the chief contributors in my judgment are those law school deans who are more interested in keeping classrooms full and law professors employed than they are in ensuring that the supply of lawyer does not far exceed the demand...

If you have been unable to resolve the fee bill dispute with your lawyer through discussion alone, you may want to consider mediating or arbitrating the dispute. Generally, mediations are informal and are non-binding.  A mediator does not make a decision as does an arbitrator or judge in a case.   But a skilled mediator can...

Can a client recover previously paid fees and costs paid to a lawyer if found to be improperly billed?  The answer is an unqualified "yes!" It makes no difference whether a client has paid some of all of the fees and costs. The ethics of the profession clearly provide that at the termination of the representation,...

Before approaching a lawyer to discuss concerns about the legal bill, a client has to first know exactly what it is being objected to and why. Is it the total amount of the bill being objected to? Is it that certain billed for work does not seem appropriate? Is it that certain billed for costs do...