Solicitor Fees too high ?

€450 is a reasonable fee for 1.5 hrs including a consultation and drafting a letter which prevents further expense in defending litigation. It's the going rate for a solicitor and well justified in my opinion.
 
postman pat said:
Hi Kano,
next time a solicitor requires yor sevices as an engineer, avoid giving him or her a price and after charge 300 an hour,when he blows a fuse,show him this thread.

Pat
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I'm not so sure he would blow a fuse. The rates received by engineers and other professionals for appearing in court as expert witnesses are extremely generous. All solicitors would be keenly aware of these rates.
 
ubiquitous said:
I'm not so sure he would blow a fuse. The rates received by engineers and other professionals for appearing in court as expert witnesses are extremely generous. All solicitors would be keenly aware of these rates.
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Can vouch for that....one engineer recently charged €1,200 plus VAT plus outlay for a Court appearance, he was there about an hour.
 
postman pat said:
Hi Kano,
next time a solicitor requires yor sevices as an engineer, avoid giving him or her a price and after charge 300 an hour,when he blows a fuse,show him this thread.



Pat
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Pat,

I know you were trying to be smart, but ask yourself who pays for engineering reports in a Court case? It's not the solicitor, the bill gets passed on to the client.

So, considering the solicitor merely handles the transfer of funds between the engineer and the client, why would he or she care how much the engineer charged as long as the client was willing to pay it?
 
In the case of a death, can a solicitors ask for x amount of money from the estate for work done if they can't produce a copy of the letter they're supposed to issue before commencing action for the now deceased client?

Is it not a serious problem for them not to issue that letter?



(x is a large amount of money-multiple thousands-figure is disputed by administrator's solicitor as being "extortionate"-his words, not mine).
 

It's not clear what you're referring to, but i assume it's the mandatory s.68 letter which deals with fees? It should be sent out, but it's not fatal to the recovery of fees if it isn't sent. There was a judgment on it in 2001 and 2002. X's estate will probably have to pay the invoice.
 
incamera,
i mean if he needed a solicitor in a private capacity,by the way im a bit surprised at all the angst in the replies i got on my opinion on solicitors,it seems people can have an opinion on builders, foreign property sellers etc,but when solictors are asked about charging 300 euros an hour,its out of order!!

Pat
 
MandaC said:
Can vouch for that....one engineer recently charged €1,200 plus VAT plus outlay for a Court appearance, he was there about an hour.
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That would be in line with invoices I've issued in the past for appearing as an expert witness, scaled to the Court.

The difficulty can be with the timing - it might be an hour, it might be two days as timing the progression of cases through a court can be difficult and there has to be cognizance of the possible loss of other fee-earning activity.
 

If he needs an engineer (I presume you mean engineer?) then he's free to shop around, as anyone is entitled to shop around for a service. I'm not really sure how you're struggling with the concept.
 
Seems reasonable enough to me. The fact that you consider yourself to have drafted most of the letter is not all that relevant; if you were happy that the contents of the letter were correct, appropriate, and that the letter would have the same effect coming from you as it would have coming from your solicitor, why didn't you send it yourself?

What you've been billed for is your solicitor's professional judgment, his time (which he could have spent earning the same fees with other clients) and the name of his firm appearing on the top of the letter. He probably should have confirmed with you that a further letter was needed but, in his professional judgment it obviously was needed and could have been dealt with by him without your input. Consulting with you would have cost you more.

If you'd gone to a partner in one of the top commercial firms you'd have been paying between 450 and 500 an hour before VAT.
 
darkylarch said:
If you'd gone to a partner in one of the top commercial firms you'd have been paying between 450 and 500 an hour before VAT.
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You'd be lucky. In very many cases the letterhead of the big firms frightens off the defendant. And you could be paying significantly more per hour.

If the OP is seeking the best opinion in litigation to win a case, they are going to have to pay the fee.
 
I have used the services of Caroline Fanning at www.fanningsolicitors.ie in Foxrock on two occasions and got a a very prompt professional job done each time at a reasonable fee. I always make sure I know in advance what the service will cost.
 
Fees charged to OP are normal for a large firm of solicitors (what I see coming through in my place). Cav€at €mptor and all that. You go into a bar or a dry cleaner's the prices should be displayed. Why not a lawyer's?
 
Thanks Incamera. The solicitor for the administrator of the estate is currently negotiating the Invoice as he feels it is totally extortionate for the amount of work done.
 
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