Solicitor fee but charge struck out

"....In my case, the solicitor had no hand nor part in the outcome."

Sorry to be repeating myself, but you cannot know this for sure, unless the solicitor actually told you. It is perfectly normal for dialogue to take place between defending licitor and prosecutor beforehand: if there was a defect in the summons, it could easily be the case that the withdrawal was as a result of the solicitor's prior intervention.

MOB, I'm 100% sure his intervention had nothing to do with the strike out. Quite literally 10 seconds before proceedings began, he told me to prepare for a fine. I do feel lucky that the charges were struck out but it would appear this was in no way due to the solicitor. All i asked was did others think that €300 was merited for his being prepared to answer the charge on my behalf. I'd love a job where I was paid for preparing to do something but then have to do little or nothing.

MF1....I haven't stated anywhere that I shouldn't have had to pay him. On the contrary, I have no issue in paying him. At the time I engaged him, I fully expected to pay a fee & like anyone else I pay for a product/service, after the fact I assess whether it was good value or not. I cannot make that assessment prior to being in receipt of the product or service. Given this was my first time engaging a solicitor, I had no idea what to expect in terms of going rate or fee & as you correctly state, ahead of a court appearance, a defendant typically won't question his solicitors request for payment. In hindsight though, I stand by my original comment - I don't think €300 was good value for the time he had to invest in my case. In the final analysis, he didn't have to make any representation on my behalf. You too of course are entitled to your opinion.

apple1 said:

Quite literally 10 seconds before proceedings began, he told me to prepare for a fine.

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Surely he was wise to do so if only for the sake of prudence?

If he had told you that you were going to get off, and you ended up with a fine, would you have been happy?

apple1 said:

I haven't stated anywhere that I shouldn't have had to pay him. On the contrary, I have no issue in paying him. At the time I engaged him, I fully expected to pay a fee & like anyone else I pay for a product/service, after the fact I assess whether it was good value or not. I cannot make that assessment prior to being in receipt of the product or service. Given this was my first time engaging a solicitor, I had no idea what to expect in terms of going rate or fee & as you correctly state, ahead of a court appearance, a defendant typically won't question his solicitors request for payment. In hindsight though, I stand by my original comment - I don't think €300 was good value for the time he had to invest in my case. In the final analysis, he didn't have to make any representation on my behalf. You too of course are entitled to your opinion.

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I think you need to take into consideration the fact that he was out of the office and in court on your behalf. Spurning the opportunity to progress another case while waiting for yours to come up. That time cannot be charged to anyone else but you. The fact that the case was struck out is ultimately incidental (unless of course he knew in advance). I will tell people that i think they can deal with particular offenses themselves if they like, but my fee is X for turning up. If their case is struck out or takes an hour (in court) it is all the same.

apple1 said:

MF1....I haven't stated anywhere that I shouldn't have had to pay him. On the contrary, I have no issue in paying him.

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Insinuating that he is overcharging for the work done or even ripping you off surely gives the lie to your claim that you have no issue with paying him?!

Clubman....I think perhaps you're misinterpreting what I'm saying. Its not the paying that I had issue with, merely the amount. In any event, this particular discussion has in my opinion, ran its course. Maybe I'll engage Stifster next time! Bon nuit.

Bear in mind that your solicitor may have been preparing you for a fine (though expecting the 'strike out'), just to manage your expectations. It might be interesting for you to compare Eircom call out charges with the cost of legal assistance at a time of need. 300 Euro got your solicitor to represent you (250ish ex vat). If you call Eircom out to repair a phone fault such as: "Visit due to faulty non-eircom equipment during normal hours.", you will be billed: "230.00 visit charge. Inspection of non-eircom Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). Fault is localised into third party. No work done.+ 50.00 per half hour threafter". Ex vat, making a grand total of E278.30 and no work is done so you will still have to pay the next person to come along and fix it. Cost, value and price are not the same thing. Your solicitor gave you a bargain. Lauren

Going back to the "cash" aspect, when revenue do an audit they do not just look at the paper and accounts available in a particular business premises. The inspector will be familiar with the particular business type and normal business practices, they will look at all sorts of things like how many phone calls are made/received, the level of staffing and the amount of paper used to determine the volume of business transacted and then check to see that this corresponds with declared figures (in pubs the drinks going over the bar on a Saturday night could be counted). Most people pay cash for amounts under €500 and a solicitor in the habit of doing court work won't just do road traffic but also do the full range of criminal work and would look for cash payment in advance (cash can't bounce and a client who gets a big fine may not be keen on paying the solicitor after the event). On the cost of the work it seems ok to me, like lauren has pointed out very few business go anywhere for less.