Legal Question in Legal Ethics in California
I called an attorney and discussed my matter. He listened and gave me his advice. Then, afterwards, he tells me he'll cut me a deal and only charge me $30.00 and told me I can mail it to him. He then proceeded to obtain my phone number and name. Do I really owe him money when we had absolutely no set agreement of any kind, or is he just trying to rip me off? He claimed afterwards that advice is not free, and that his advice is usable in small claims court if I wanted.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Pay him for his time.
Technically it is illegal for him to collect for a few reasons, including not getting a fee agreement up front and not having a written fee agreement with you. On the other hand, if you got sound usable advice, and then want to turn around and use the technicalities to get out of paying for his valuable service, then you are a theif and I'm sure we all here at LawGuru will hope you get screwed in Small Claims.
The issue is not whether you had a written fee agreement, as those are not required where an attorney charges a small consultation fee, or a fee to explore a matter. The issue is whether he actually informed you he charges for such things and you agreed.
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