Submitted by MHart on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 08:09
Posted in
I hired an attorney and paid a retainer to her ($4,000) to help me prepare my estate plan. We had a meeting and everything seemed good but then nothing seemed to happen. I called once or twice over the next two months and she told me she was working on it and will let me know when I should come down to her office again. Now, however, I'm sick of waiting. So my question is: can I get all or part of my retainer fee back if I fire the lawyer now? Thanks for any help you can offer.
Retainer refund
The answer, which is the same for any type of MA attorney, is maybe. The first thing you need to do is make sure you want to fire the attorney. I know you're frustrated, but if your attorney has already spent considerable time on your estate plan, you may end up paying another attorney a lot more money to reach the same point of preparation. Talk to her by phone, explain that you are thinking of ending the relationship, and see if she can give you a date by which the work will be done.
If you are certain you want to end the relationship, fire the attorney in writing. Short and sweet. You can explain your reason if you want, but make sure you include language instructing her not to perform any more work for you. Obviously, you want her to stop billing her time immediately.
You should look at your engagement letter, or retainer fee agreement, the document you signed at the start of your relationship with the attorney, and see what is says about how the retainer will be handled if you fire the attorney. Generally speaking, if you paid $4000 as a retainer and the attorney has only billed your for $3000, then you should be entitled to a refund (less any other expenses the attorney may have incurred on your behalf, such as copying charges, etc.). On the other hand, if the attorney can show that she already billed $5000 worth of work, you may owe her another $1000. Also, a client who has signed a contingency fee agreement, such as in a personal injury case, may still owe the attorney a percentage of any recovery even if the client fires the attorney before that recovery is realized. Again, the client would have to review the terms of the contingency or fee agreement.
Contact the attorney about arranging to pick up the refund or about making final payment. Then, make sure you collect all of the documents created by the attorney on your behalf. Those documents belong to you, and you paid for them. So ask for a copy of the file. For this step, and for the entire process, some people are more comfortable having their new attorney terminate the old one and collect the file. It's up to you. Hope that helps.