How Do I Dispute Attorney Fees?
If you believe your attorney's bill includes questionable or unreasonable charges, start by carefully reviewing your fee agreement and invoice. Identify the specific charges you question, document your concerns, and ask your attorney to explain the work performed and the amount charged.
If the dispute cannot be resolved directly with your attorney, other options may include mediation, fee arbitration, a complaint to the appropriate disciplinary authority, or legal action. Available remedies and procedures vary by jurisdiction.
1. Start With Your Fee Agreement and Invoice
Before disputing a charge, review your written fee agreement and compare its terms with your invoices. Check the agreed hourly rates, billing increments, costs, and the individuals authorized to perform work on your matter.
Then review the individual billing entries. Look at what work was performed, who performed it, how much time was charged, and whether the description gives you enough information to understand the charge. A charge that raises a question is not necessarily unreasonable, but you should understand what you are being asked to pay for.
2. Identify the Charges You Question
Review your invoice for charges that seem unclear, excessive, duplicative, or inconsistent with your fee agreement. Rather than questioning the total bill alone, identify the individual entries that concern you and the reason for each concern.
Examples may include vague billing descriptions, block billing, repeated review of the same documents, duplicate charges, excessive time for a task, clerical work billed at professional rates, or billing increments that significantly increase the time charged.
Keep in mind that a billing practice is not automatically unreasonable simply because it appears among these EXAMPLES OF QUESTIONABLE BILLING PRACTICES. The circumstances of the work performed matter.
3. Document the Charges You Dispute
Once you have identified any questionable charges, create a written record. For each charge, note the invoice date, billing entry, amount charged, and the reason you are questioning it. Keep copies of your fee agreement, invoices, correspondence, and other documents that may help explain the work performed.
Reviewing charges individually can also help distinguish between a billing entry that simply needs clarification and one that may warrant further review.
A simple fee-audit worksheet can help organize the disputed charges and your reasons for questioning them. SAMPLE WORKSHEET
4. Ask Your Attorney to Explain the Charges
Contact your attorney about the specific charges you are questioning and ask for an explanation. Providing a list of the disputed entries can help focus the discussion on the particular charges at issue rather than the total amount of the bill.
Keep a record of your communications and any explanations or adjustments offered. If the attorney provides information that resolves a question, note that as well. The goal at this stage is to determine whether the disputed charges can be explained or resolved directly.
5. Consider Your Options if the Dispute Is Not Resolved
If you are unable to resolve the disputed charges directly with your attorney, other options may be available. Depending on your jurisdiction and circumstances, these may include:
Mediation or fee arbitration — Some state and local bar associations offer low-cost programs for resolving attorney-client fee disputes. STATE BAR ORGANIZATION CONTACT INFORMATION
A disciplinary complaint — If the billing conduct may violate professional conduct rules, you may be able to submit a complaint to the appropriate disciplinary authority.
Legal action — Depending on the circumstances, a client may choose to consult an independent attorney about possible legal remedies.
Procedures, eligibility requirements, deadlines, and available remedies can vary. Check with the appropriate authority in your jurisdiction for current information.
For more detailed information, Attorney Fee Hustle: A Consumer's Guide to Disputing Legal Fees explains how to identify, document, and challenge unreasonable attorney fees.
