He sounds very much like an ordinary solicitor to me. Charging for things like reading emails seems to be standard practice with many 'traditional' solicitors. A few, more 'modern', solicitors are prepared to offer a set fee in advance but otherwise clients get clobbered with a big bill every time they have any contact with their solicitor.
It's often said that you should never say "Good morning. How are you?" to a solicitor, as he'll charge you for listening to your question, then charge you again for answering it. If he then responds with ". . . and how are you?", that's another fee for contacting you with his question, to be followed by a further one for listening to your answer. [OK, that's obviously not true but, nevertheless, it serves to illustrate the way that solicitors charge for almost everything].