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Having My Lawyers Bill Audited
The issues below deal with Scots Law. I was advised by my conveyancing lawyer to engage a corporation lawyer during a protracted transaction last year involving the sale of my business. The corporatioin lawyers task was to draft a partnership agreement. I was shocked when I received my bill from the corporation lawyer as it totalled �6K, a full �2K more than my conveyancing lawyer charged despite the fact that the conveyancing was far more complicated, at least to my untrained eye. On the advice of my conveyancing lawyer I requested that my bill be "taxed" by the legal auditor at the sherrif court. My corporation lawyer got very cagey about this and threatened to complicate the conclusion of my sale which had taken 8 months up til that point. Consequently I paid invoices totalling �4.9K and only asked for one invoice worth �1.1K to be audited. A few questions.
1. I requested this bill be audited in July of last year. The lawyer has only contacted me now to say that they are ready to submit the case. This puts me at a big disadvantage as I'd forgotten about it and consequently have forgotten much of the details that I was objecting to. Is this 13 month delay acceptable/legal?
2. On contacting me last week the lawyer stated that their "specialist legal accountants" had reviewed the file and that I had in fact been undercharged by about 50% and that an auditor was likely to conclude the same and ordert me to pay twice my original bill. Scare tactics?
3. At what point do I get to state my case and how? This one invoice must be looked at in the context of all of the others. How do I make this point? I understand that I can request a hearing but in my opinion the case is to complicated for me to sate all the facts in a short statement. I want to submit my case in writing.
Any help greatly appreciated.
1. I requested this bill be audited in July of last year. The lawyer has only contacted me now to say that they are ready to submit the case. This puts me at a big disadvantage as I'd forgotten about it and consequently have forgotten much of the details that I was objecting to. Is this 13 month delay acceptable/legal?
2. On contacting me last week the lawyer stated that their "specialist legal accountants" had reviewed the file and that I had in fact been undercharged by about 50% and that an auditor was likely to conclude the same and ordert me to pay twice my original bill. Scare tactics?
3. At what point do I get to state my case and how? This one invoice must be looked at in the context of all of the others. How do I make this point? I understand that I can request a hearing but in my opinion the case is to complicated for me to sate all the facts in a short statement. I want to submit my case in writing.
Any help greatly appreciated.
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Try this...http://www.lawscot.org.uk/Public_Information/C omplaints_against_Scottish_solicitors/
If you go into special complaints bit fees issues are dealt with thereand it gives advice on how to approach the issue and with whom.
If you go into special complaints bit fees issues are dealt with thereand it gives advice on how to approach the issue and with whom.
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