what can i do if my lawyer is excessively billing hours

If you are being billed by the hour, you have a right to a bill that shows what your lawyer was doing, and when he was doing it; Excessive time to complete a task. While this can be subjective, courts have not hesitated to use their legal expertise to declare work on a given matter to be excessive;

Full Answer

What does it mean when a lawyer is billing by the hour?

Bills that have not been itemized to reflect services rendered. If you are being billed by the hour, you have a right to a bill that shows what your lawyer was doing, and when he was doing it; Excessive time to complete a task.

When do lawyers get comfortable with billing?

Most new lawyers don’t get comfortable with billing until they are third- or fourth-year associates. Don’t beat yourself up if you aren’t good at billing yet—being a good biller (i.e., someone who is efficient at capturing all their billable time and who rarely has clients challenge or refuse to pay bills) comes with time and practice.

Do lawyers bill clients in one hour increments?

Heart of America Mgmt. Co., 1999 WL 540895 at *7, fn 8 (D. Kan 1999) (quarter hour billing... has been virtually extinct for some time"). Yet it appears that anywhere from five to ten percent of lawyers bill clients in unacceptably large chunks of time - usually in one hour or half-hour increments.

How can I reduce my Lawyer’s bills?

There are steps you can take both during and after the engagement to communicate your concerns to your lawyer. Appropriate questioning of bills often leads to a mutually-agreed upon reduction, and can even strengthen the attorney-client relationship.

What states require fee arbitration?

What to do if your bill does not resolve?

Can a lawyer choose not to participate in a lawsuit?

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What is the most a lawyer can charge per hour?

Attorney's hourly fees range between $100 and $400 depending on their experience and the type of case. Attorneys in small towns or lawyers in training cost $100 to $200 per hour, while experienced lawyers in metropolitan areas charge $200 to $400 hourly.

What is it called when a lawyer overcharges you?

Examples Of Overbilling While the act of overbilling can simply be a lawyer overcharging for services, there are numerous ways this can occur, for example: Padding a bill: This occurs when a lawyer lies about how much time was spent on a matter. By overstating time spent, the bill becomes inflated.

How can a lawyer bill more hours?

Tips to Maximize Your Law Firm's Billable HoursMinimum time increments.Record tasks as you complete them.Create a firm-wide time tracking policy.Increase your productivity.Complete billing descriptions.Delegate strategically.Track all time… billable and non-billable.Get to maximizing.

What is reasonable response time for a lawyer?

A: The lawyer should be responsive to your questions within 24-48 hours after you left a message. If the lawyer is not responsive, perhaps he or she is on vacation and unable to return.

What should you not say to a lawyer?

Five things not to say to a lawyer (if you want them to take you..."The Judge is biased against me" Is it possible that the Judge is "biased" against you? ... "Everyone is out to get me" ... "It's the principle that counts" ... "I don't have the money to pay you" ... Waiting until after the fact.

Can you sue a lawyer for not doing their job?

A claim of malpractice may exist if your lawyer exhibited negligence in your representation. If your lawyer's negligence caused you to suffer harm or a less advantageous outcome or settlement in your case, you may have a claim to sue your lawyer for professional negligence.

How many billable hours is normal?

It's not a complicated equation – the more hours you bill, the more revenue for the firm. Firms “average,” “target” or “minimum” stated billables typically range between 1700 and 2300, although informal networks often quote much higher numbers.

Is 2400 billable hours a lot?

Assuming the billable hours are “on the up and up”, a 2400 hour/year biller is routinely working on client matters well past the dinner hour. In fact more than routine, as an absolute necessity a 2400 hour biller is working on legal issues every night after he has already worked eight full hours.

What percentage of hours should be billable?

For most service companies, 30 percent is considered a good efficiency rate, while 50 percent would deliver extremely efficient employee costing. That means out of eight hours, if a technician does approximately 2.4 hours of billable work per day, the billable hour percentage averages 30 percent.

How often should you hear from your lawyer?

There is no set formula for how often you will hear from your attorney. However, the key to a successful attorney client relationship is communication. Whenever there is an important occurrence in your case you will be contacted or notified.

Why do lawyers ignore you?

If your attorney is not experienced or efficient, they may have missed a deadline or made another mistake and aren't willing to confess their error. There could also be some bad news that is entirely outside of the attorney's control.

Why do lawyers take so long to settle a case?

Personal injury cases usually take quite some time to settle or resolve. The reasons a case can progress slowly can be summed up into three general points: Your case is slowed down by legal or factual problems. Your case involves a lot of damages and substantial compensation.

How to minimize billable hour inflation?

In order to minimize billable hour inflation, every client should implement outside counsel guidelines that prohibit block billing, billable "hoarding" and excessive incremental billing. However, these are just a few of the practices that lead to overbilling and should cause clients to carefully scrutinize their monthly statements. Please visit our website (www.litigationlimited.com) to learn more about these and other types of law firm overbilling, and the strategies clients can use to help outside counsel improve billing practices and rein in billable hour inflation.

What happens when the economy slows down?

When the economy slows down and billable hours are at a premium, work tends to be retained and billed by more expensive senior attorneys. This results in partners doing associate work, associates doing paralegal work, and paralegals doing secretarial work.

What is overbilling law?

Law firm overbilling - whether described as the euphemistic "bill padding" or simply "billing fraud" - is a serious problem that is seldom discussed and even less frequently addressed. But rare is the legal bill that does not include at least some "padding." In fact, according to the California State Bar, most bills are inflated at least 10-30 percent. This article describes three common ways legal bills are inflated and provides tips to help clients identify problematic billing practices.

What percentage of lawyers are block billed?

Approximately 90 percent of law firm clients who are billed on an hourly basis are “block billed.” Block billing is an accounting technique whereby lawyers aggregate multiple smaller tasks into a single "block" entry, for which a single time value is assigned. In theory, the total time charged equals the sum of the duration of each discrete task. For example, after spending five minutes on a phone call, 35 minutes revising a junior associate’s draft motion and three minutes dashing off a brief e-mail to the client, the attorney should bill the client for seven-tenths of an hour. Unfortunately, in far too many cases, the final block-billed entry for these tasks will end up looking something like this:

Why block billing?

Another court observed that block billing allows lawyers to "claim compensation for rather minor tasks which, if reported individually, would not be compensable" and precludes the client "from determining whether individual tasks were expeditiously performed within a reasonable period of time because it is impossible to separate into components the services which have been lumped together." In re Leonard Jed Company, 103 B.R. 706 (Bankr. D. Md. 1989).

When billing by the hour, should they not use increments greater than one-tenth of an hour?

When lawyers bill by the hour, they should never use increments greater than one-tenth of an hour. Glover v. Heart of America Mgmt. Co., 1999 WL 540895 at *7, fn 8 (D. Kan 1999) (quarter hour billing... has been virtually extinct for some time"). Yet it appears that anywhere from five to ten percent of lawyers bill clients in unacceptably large chunks of time - usually in one hour or half-hour increments. This is neither honest nor reasonable, and constitutes outright billing fraud, as courts have held that “professional persons who charge their clients fees in excess of $80.00 per hour, based upon time spent, cannot, in all honesty and reasonableness, charge their clients for increments in excess of one tenth of an hour.” In re Tom Carter Enterprises, Inc., 55 B.R. 548, 549 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 1985). By way of illustration, consider these billing entries from a $750 per hour partner:

How long does a lawyer have to submit a daily submission?

Now consider that, at least according to the California State Bar and nearly every state and federal court in the country, most lawyers' daily time submissions contain anywhere from thirty minutes to three hours of time billed to clients that was not actually worked.

What is the old joke about a lawyer who dies and goes to the Pearly Gates?

There is the old joke about a lawyer who dies and goes to the Pearly Gates. St. Peter says to him, “you only look about 45 years old.” “Yes,” says the lawyer, “I just turned 45.” “But our records say that you are 94 years old.” “Oh,” responded the lawyer, “you must have been looking at my billing records.” Another joke tells of the client who questioned the lawyer about part of his bill. “What is this $100 charge for?” asked the client. The lawyer replied, “That’s when I was walking downtown. I saw you on the other side of the street, crossed over to say hello, and found out that it wasn’t you .”

How many hours does a lawyer work?

It typically takes a lawyer at least 10 hours of time to work eight billable hours. For example, the lawyer cannot charge for time spent on law firm administrative matters. The partner cannot bill a client for the time he discusses with his partners what should be the bonus for each of several associates.

How long was Michael Romansky in jail?

Michael Romansky, a senior partner of a major, national law firm, reviewed a bill prepared for a client, and decided to add three hours to the 2.5 hours that the associate had billed. The firm, like many major law firms, typically bill by the hour.

What did the Disciplinary Board agree with?

The Disciplinary Board agreed with the Hearing Committee that Mr. Romansky “deliberately increased the hours billed in order to charge a premium that he was not entitled to,” but the court (over one dissent) concluded that his actions amounted to negligent conduct, not reckless conduct.

Why are red flags going up?

Red flags should go up when the in-house auditors see one lawyer charging 300 or more hours in one month. Perhaps the hours are real, because of travel time and waiting around the courthouse. The auditors will have a more objective perspective of that matter than the lawyer who routinely bills that amount.

Can junior associates exaggerate hours?

Junior associates may conclude that they should exaggerate their hours if they also wish to climb the partnership ladder. Of course, this house of cards falls down if the client later discovers billing fraud. Often clients do not discover the problem.

Who guarded the chicken coop?

The wolf guarded the chicken coop. His wife was a lawyer at Chapman & Cutler, and she had her own problems. Among other things, her firm discovered that she had billed many hours when she was on vacation with her boyfriend and not working at all. The court sentenced her to a year and a day in prison.

David Bradley Dohner

I could not agree more with my erudite colleagues and I suggest that you consider their sage advice before you jump to the conclusion you appear to be racing toward.

Stuart M. Address

I'm hoping you have an attorney client issue rather than a question from the movies. If you believe that your attorney has padded their bill excessively, you should first put your concerns in writing to the attorney and see if you can resolve the situation.

David Lloyd Merrill

Mr Hackworth is exactly right -- jumping straight to trying to prosecute before speaking with the lawyer makes no sense. And also unlike the movies, most lawyers are honest, hardworking people who are just trying to honestly and ethically earn a living...

How can an attorney overcharge a client?

There are at least 10 ways for an attorney to overcharge a client who is paying an hourly rate for legal services. Phantom Billing. “Phantom billing” occurs when an attorney invoices a client for work that was never performed. An audit of the client’s file is necessary to detect phantom billing. Unnecessary Work.

Do attorneys in Maryland have to submit monthly bills?

In Maryland, most retainer agreements expressly provide that the attorney or law firm will submit monthly invoices. Even if this language does not appear in the retainer agreement, the Maryland attorney or law firm still has a professional duty to submit regular invoices in order to comply with the ethical obligation “to keep the client reasonably informed of the status of his case”. See the Maryland Lawyers’ Rules of Professional Conduct at Maryland Rule 19-301.4; and Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland v. Roth, 428 Md. 50, 74 (2012) (concluding that an attorney violated Md. Rule 19-301.14 (a) (2) regarding communications with clients by failing to provide the clients with monthly billing statements).

How to dispute a bill from an attorney?

If you’ve received a bill from your attorney that you feel is unjust, then you can dispute the bill without having to take your lawyer to court. Before disputing your bill, review your initial fee agreement, which should include details on how often you’ll be billed and what the rates will be. Then, review your bill in light of the fee agreement, your own records, and your understanding of what your attorney has done. Try to pinpoint areas where you feel you were overcharged or discrepancies in times or services. Instead of formally disputing your bill right away, call your lawyer and ask them to review and explain the bill. If you still disagree with your bill, write your lawyer a formal letter explaining which fees you're disputing and why. If this doesn't work, check with your state or local bar association to see if they offer free arbitration services. To learn how to prepare for an arbitration hearing, keep reading!

What to do if you are allowed to have an attorney represent you during an arbitration?

Look for an attorney who is experienced in handling attorney's fees disputes. Make copies of any documents related to the fee dispute to take with you to the hearing.

What is the difference between arbitration and mediation?

With mediation, a neutral third-party works with you and your attorney to come to a compromise on the dispute, but he or she doesn't make any decision on the matter. If you choose arbitration, on the other hand, you will go before an arbitrator – typically another attorney or a retired judge – who will listen to both sides and make a decision.

What should be included in a fee agreement?

Your fee agreement should include details on how often you'll be billed, how costs will be computed, and the rates at which the attorney will bill for work completed.

How does wikihow mark an article as reader approved?

wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 95% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status.

What should be included in a letter to dispute a bill?

On the subject line of your letter, include the date of the bill you're disputing and the case name, if any, that relates to the services for which you were billed.

What to do if your bill doesn't go into detail?

Ask for a detailed accounting. If your bill doesn't go into detail regarding the charges, you should ask the attorney to provide you with one so you can better understand the charges.

What is double billing?

Double billing is simultaneously billing two clients for work performed during the same block of time. The temptation to do this occurs most often when lawyers travel. Say the lawyer spends two hours flying to attend Client 1’s deposition. While the lawyer is on the plane, she uses that time to work on projects for Client 2. Some clients don’t allow lawyers to bill for travel time, and under that circumstance, the lawyer could only bill the time spent working for Client 2 anyway. But when clients will pay for travel costs, the lawyer may be tempted to bill Client 1 for the time spent traveling and simultaneously bill Client 2 for work on their projects. Voilà—the lawyer has magically made four hours of billable time out of two hours. While none of the comments to Rule 1.5 or Rule 8.4 explicitly address double billing, legal ethics experts agree that double-billing violates these rules.

Why is marking up time bad?

Marking up time also violates lawyer ethics rules. Suppose a lawyer prepares a brief on an issue the lawyer has dealt with many times before. The lawyer performed the research, wrote a brief about the issue on a prior matter, and billed those tasks to that client. In the new matter, the lawyer copies the memo, makes sure the research is up to date, tailors the arguments to the current client’s case, and files the brief. He spends two hours on the task but knows that if he had to start from scratch, he would need four hours to complete it, so he bills the client for four hours. Like double billing, marking up time also violates the professionalism rules.

How often should I bill my lawyer?

Some firms require that lawyers enter their billable time daily or weekly, though bills usually go out monthly. Even if your firm doesn’t require you to enter time daily, this is the best approach to ensure you capture all the billable work you perform. Any lawyer will tell you that this is easier said than done, but I promise that you will lose time if you put it off, especially as a young lawyer. You’ll forget about emails you sent, phone calls you took, and other “small ticket” items that add up over a month. This hurts the firm and your progress toward your billable-hour goal.

How many hours can a lawyer bill?

Don’t short yourself that billable time. But be realistic about how many hours you can bill in a day. Not everything lawyers do is billable; an 11-hour day at the office might only yield eight billable hours. And that is OK.

Why do you need to know what you can and can't bill for?

You need to know what you can and can’t bill for so you can avoid both spending excessive time on work that clients won’t pay for and entering time for unbillable tasks.

How long does it take to get proficient at both?

You’ll get more proficient at both, but it will take a few years, and during that period, expect that your billing entries may be cut. Unless someone told you otherwise, bill all the time you spend on a task, even if you know some of it will be marked down.

What can you bill for in a law firm?

But at most firms, you can and should bill for tasks like reading and sending emails; taking and making phone calls; reviewing accident reports, medical records, and discovery documents; and speaking to clients, opposing counsel, and witnesses.

How to coerce a client to pay a lawyer?

Lawyers frequently try to coerce payment by asserting an “attorneys’ lien” on all or part of a former client’s case file pending receipt of payment. Depending on whether the case or transaction is over, this can leave the client in the unenviable position of having to pay the fee to get much-needed papers for an ongoing legal matter. However, in practice a client operating in good faith has little to fear. If the client has a need for the documents in an ongoing matter, and a good faith basis for not paying a portion of the fee, lawyers cannot withhold critical papers. Even after the attorney-client relationship is over, the lawyer has a duty to assist in an orderly transition to replacement counsel to minimize prejudice to his former client.

What is a lawyer's agreement?

Lawyers will often refer to agreements they have with clients, typically drafted by the lawyer at the beginning of the engagement, as evidence that a client agreed to certain payment terms. For example, there may be agreement as to hourly rates, staffing, or contemplated courses of action.

What happens if you don't raise your lawyer's billing concerns?

The downside of not raising billing concerns with your lawyer is substantial. You lose the chance to obtain a mutually-agreed upon reduction. The billing practice that offends you will no doubt continue. Finally, if the fee dispute ever gets litigated or arbitrated, your lawyer will claim that you consented to the disputed billing practice.

Why do lawyers give bonuses?

Despite this, lawyers often tell their clients they are entitled to a “bonus” over the agreed-upon fee because the matter has become more difficult than expected or because of an unexpectedly favorable result. It is common for such a lawyer to “negotiate” the increased fee in the middle of an engagement.

What to do if you get a high bill from an attorney?

There are steps you can take both during and after the engagement to communicate your concerns to your lawyer. Appropriate questioning of bills often leads to a mutually-agreed upon reduction, and can even strengthen the attorney-client relationship. Should all else fail, fee dispute litigation provides substantial relief from some relatively common examples of attorney overbilling, while protecting an attorney’s right to a reasonable fee. Ten points for clients to consider:

What is the code of professional conduct and responsibility for lawyers in New York?

In an effort to ensure that lawyers do not use superior experience or negotiating skills in drafting agreements with their clients, the Code of Professional Conduct and Responsibility that applies to all lawyers in New York State (other states have similar or identical codes) provides that an attorney “shall not enter into an agreement for, charge or collect an illegal or excessive fee.” DR 2-106 [A].

What to do if your lawyer is unwilling to discuss your bills?

If your lawyer is unwilling to discuss the bills, you should put your concerns in writing, and consider ending the relationship.

Why do law firms charge high billing rates?

Sometimes, law firms use high billing rates to stick clients with unnecessarily expensive bills for research, secretarial work, and other low-level tasks.

How much money did Sullivan and Cromwell misappropriate?

For example, a lawyer at Sullivan & Cromwell used these techniques and others to misappropriate over $500,000 before being disbarred in 2008, according to the Wall Street Journal. Besides outright false expenses, the lawyer admitted to improperly billing for personal "meals, travel and lodging" and first-class tickets on international flights, for which he paid for coach or business-class tickets, pocketing the difference.

What does the'select' button mean?

It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

How many hours did Mayer Brown bill?

For example, an extensive Illinois hearing board investigation into the billing records of a lawyer at Mayer Brown found that he billed more than 150 hours during a two-week period in which he actually worked less than 50.

How much did Vick's lawyers charge for his bankruptcy?

Faced with a $2.66 million fee for a bankruptcy case, Vick learned that his lawyers were charging for extensive overhead expenses. As Am Law Daily noted, these included the cost of running air conditioning during the weekend; taxi rides home for employees working late; and $1,200 for plane tickets from New York to Kansas.

How much did the attorneys charge for the Ponzi scheme?

Allen Stanford Ponzi scheme recovered only $81 million. According to the AP, the attorneys charged $27 million for three months of shoddy work.

What happens if you pay upfront for a lawyer?

Anytime you pay an upfront fee, you risk the lawyer not doing much or any work.

Why should a lawyer refuse to take a case?

Unnecessary delays can often damage a case. If, because of overwork or any other reason, a lawyer is unable to spend the required time and energy on a case , the lawyer should refuse from the beginning to take the case. A lawyer must be able to communicate effectively with a client.

What to do if you have a complaint about a lawyer?

If you believe you have a valid complaint about how your lawyer has handled your case, inform the organization that governs law licenses in your state. Usually this is the disciplinary board of the highest court in your state. In some states, the state bar association is responsible for disciplining lawyers.

How should a lawyer act in both professional and private life?

How a lawyer should act, in both professional and private life, is controlled by the rules of professional conduct in the state or states in which he or she is licensed to practice. These rules are usually administered by the state’s highest court through its disciplinary board.

What is the relationship between a lawyer and a client?

In a lawyer-client relationship, acting responsibly involves duties on both sides—and often involves some hard work. You have a right to expect competent representation from your lawyer. However, every case has at least two sides. If you are unhappy with your lawyer, it is important to determine the reasons.

What is the job of a lawyer?

Communication. A lawyer must be able to communicate effectively with a client. When a client asks for an explanation, the lawyer must provide it within a reasonable time. A lawyer must inform a client about changes in a case caused by time and circumstances. Fees.

What to do if your lawyer is not responding to your complaint?

If your lawyer is unwilling to address your complaints, consider taking your legal affairs to another lawyer. You can decide whom to hire (and fire) as your lawyer. However, remember that when you fire a lawyer, you may be charged a reasonable amount for the work already done.

What happens if your lawyer doesn't communicate?

A lack of communication causes many problems. If your lawyer appears to have acted improperly, or did not do something that you think he or she should have done, talk with your lawyer about it. You may be satisfied once you understand the circumstances better. I have tried to discuss my complaints with my lawyer.

What states require fee arbitration?

Some states, such as California, New Jersey, and Washington D.C., require mandatory fee arbitration if you have a dispute with your lawyer concerning the bill. Fee arbitration is a great low cost, easy way to resolve billing disputes. Find the right Products and Services lawyer. Hire the right lawyer near your location.

What to do if your bill does not resolve?

If discussing your bill does not resolve the problem, a good option to consider is fee arbitration. Under fee arbitration , a neutral third-party will hear your side and your lawyer’s side of the story, and then decide what a fair price is for the legal services you received.

Can a lawyer choose not to participate in a lawsuit?

Also, in many of the states where it is offered, a lawyer can choose not to participate. In these instances, a lawsuit might be your only option. However, keep in mind that the costs and time associated with a new lawsuit may outweigh the amount you believe you have been overbilled.