Have you signed a fee contract with an attorney? Do you know that you are losing your rights once you sign this agreement?
Attorney Fee Contracts are Written to Protect Attorneys Not Clients
An attorney fee contract sets forth the provisions for retaining the lawyer’s services. But a lawyer does not write it to protect your rights. A lawyer writes this agreement to lock you into terms favorable to the attorney. Attorney fee agreements are tricky! They contain traps for the unwary. Why? Because they are difficult to understand legally speaking. These type of agreements are governed by formal contract law interpretation and “agency law.” How many of you are versed in that?
Let’s talk a little more about these types of agreements to see just how tricky they can be.
The Wording May Waive the Client’s Right to Make Important Decisions About His or Her Own Case
The agreement’s wording might give your attorney vast authority to take any actions on your behalf. This actually means you are giving up your right to decide important matters on your case. How can this work against you? You may not know what you have given up.
Consider the case of a taxi driver abused by a rogue police officer. The client signed up with an attorney to handle his case. His lawyer sued the city’s police department and police officer for use of excessive force and violation of his client’s civil rights. He had numerous claims. The client’s lawyer did not communicate with him very often, however. When the client did not hear from the attorney for several months, he came to find out that his attorney had agreed to voluntarily drop nearly all of the claims against the city and police officer. In fact, the taxi driver’s lawsuit was reduced to only one claim — and this was not a very strong claim under the law and it assured the client would lose the case. When the client realized what happened, he later brought a lawsuit to try and get his claims restored. But he was out of luck. The court ruled against him on the grounds that the lawyer had “apparent authority” to take any action on the client’s behalf. It was the retainer agreement that gave the attorney that authority.
Wait a minute, you say. Wouldn’t the attorney get in trouble for not communicating with the client for several months? Maybe — but only as an “ethics” matter — which will take you down another legal road into legal Siberia, stretched out over several years. So how can you protect yourself?
Don’t Be Stuck With Unfavorable Provisions in an Attorney Fee Agreement
You have the choice to negotiate the fee agreement with your attorney. You don’t have to be locked-in to provisions you don’t agree with. Although it is traditional for the attorney to draft the fee agreement, (also known as an engagement letter or retainer agreement) by law they are like any contract — negotiable.
You can negotiate to add, modify, delete terms that might not be in your best interest. For example, you may want a specific lawyer to represent you at hearings or on certain issues.
You can change the terms on your behalf. If negotiating the agreement with your attorney seems intimidating, we can help. We offer professional legal services to review these agreements. We can help coach you, and even negotiate terms. Don’t give up your power! Learn to avoid the traps. Call us first. See AttorneyWinner.com to set up a consultation.