Solicitor coming off record and attempting to retrospectively charge €18k

J

jonnyonions

Registered User
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Hi all, hoping somebody here can offer me some advice.
I have been going through a divorce with a solicitor over the past 5 to 7 years.
To say it has been a disappointment is an understatement.
I was in court recently and got pretty heavy attacks against me even though I pay absolutely loads towards my son's upkeep and maintenance and lots of other stuff that wasn't brought in to evidence because the extremely poor representation of my solicitor.

None of the care that I take of my son was never brought into evidence.

Problem I have now is the solicitor has never billed me for anything or given any estimates at all yet is now trying to charge me 18k without ever having sent any bills or estimates.

They are also coming off record, which is great, as I would do better on my own, but I don't know what to do as I have no more money for legal representation - especially if it's anything like the last one.

I paid them nearly 4k, and I'm still not divorced and I still have a court order to pay an exorbitant amount of money and my savings have been blocked.

First question is do I have to be in court when they come off record?

Second question is does anybody know know any course of action I can take other than the law society or the legal services regulatory authority to complain?

The entire process has been a shambles and I am completely screwed.
Plus my ex-wife has been lying on her affidavit since day one..... That is another issue separately.

I would love to see if somebody had a similar situation and maybe a fix......

All help and advice truly welcome
 
It's impossible to say if this is excessive or fair amount as the expectation is that it would be based on hours of work, and over the course of 5 to 7 years this could have ramped up to be hundreds of hours. Normally there would be some communication early on regarding potential costs and also a breakdown of fees. Does this include barrister fees also? They can mount up extremely quickly.

Did you and your ex agree an amount for maintenance or was it court ordered? Were the affidavit of means provided?
Have you obtained a legal separation at this stage?
 
jonnyonions said:
First question is do I have to be in court when they come off record?
Click to expand...
If in doubt turn up just in case
jonnyonions said:
Second question is does anybody know know any course of action I can take other than the law society or the legal services regulatory authority to complain?
Click to expand...
Complain about what specifically?
jonnyonions said:
I would love to see if somebody had a similar situation and maybe a fix......
Click to expand...
I paid about €15k for legal representation (solicitor and junior counsel) during a much shorter separation process. Maybe €18k for 5-7 years work isn't that bad?
 
Thanks for the reply.

Complain about the solicitor not representing my interests at all and inventing costs without prior warning.
The case is not complete not even close to being complete because I hired them to get me divorced.
They never asked the other side for anything.
They were not working for that entire time.
And only produced some vague estimate 3 days before Court in December.
That is not legal.
They need to to outline costs upfront surely.
Imagine going to see a doctor for €60 and they found something more serious. 2 years later when you need the operation they hit you with a bill for 20 grand. Might be a stupid example but absolutely unacceptable.

My solicitor hasnt done anything except cost me time, and money and stress and the thing is so far from being finalised.

My ex-wife has been lying on her affidavit as well and nothing was ever brought up about that.
 
Solicitors are obliged to give a section 68 letter at the outset outlining the indicative charges that will apply - did you get that?

Bear in mind that, as my solicitor told me, solicitors advise, clients instruct. This may be relevant to how your case has progressed (or not) to date.

I'm also curious as to why it took 5-7 years to figure out that your solicitor wasn't performing to your expectations?

If you want to complain about your solicitor then see here:

Complaints against Solicitors

The Law Society of Ireland, as the regulatory body for solicitors, can help you if you think you have a complaint about a solicitor.
www.lawsociety.ie
But it sounds like getting the divorce sorted might be your priority at this stage?
 
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I know of one divorce about ten years ago that was pretty simple: no kids, agreement on division of assets. It still took two years and cost €7k. So your €18k for half a decade and a lot of acrimony doesn't sound too off.

For the rest I can't advise....
 
NoRegretsCoyote said:
I know of one divorce about ten years ago that was pretty simple: no kids, agreement on division of assets. It still took two years and cost €7k. So your €18k for half a decade and a lot of acrimony doesn't sound too off.

For the rest I can't advise....
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Thanks for the advice. Yep I understand it can be costly, but for the solicitor to drop a figure like that out of the air without warning days before Court, and having progressed nothing is not right. And not legal.
They knew their costs were in reading a year, 2 years ago.
Not a word, no advice on that and I would have walked away then and fought it another way i.e. myself / mediation....whatever 20k after tax is a colossal sum for anyone, especially if they did a This post will be deleted if not edited to remove bad language job
 
This looks like such a difficult situation and I'm sorry to read about it.

Did your solicitor provide a Bill of Costs as outlined here?

Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators

Information about the functions of the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators. This used to be called the Office of the Taxing Master.
www.citizensinformation.ie www.citizensinformation.ie

If you deem the legal fees excessive, you could make a complaint to the Legal Services Regulatory Authority

Legal Services Regulatory Authority

Information about the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA), the State body responsible for the regulation of legal practitioners (solicitors and barristers) in Ireland.
www.citizensinformation.ie www.citizensinformation.ie

(Thankfully it's no longer the responsibility of the Law Society to investigate its own members)

You mentioned your ex-wife lying on her affidavit of means-do you have evidence to support this, which could be made used in court?

The Irish family law courts are inherently biased against men/fathers with a woefully discriminatory track record.
Are you a member of any support groups for fathers such as Fathers 4 Justice? They might have other members who have had similar experiences and could advise you.

Facebook

www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
 
dubdub123 said:
It's impossible to say if this is excessive or fair amount as the expectation is that it would be based on hours of work, and over the course of 5 to 7 years this could have ramped up to be hundreds of hours. Normally there would be some communication early on regarding potential costs and also a breakdown of fees. Does this include barrister fees also? They can mount up extremely quickly.

Did you and your ex agree an amount for maintenance or was it court ordered? Were the affidavit of means provided?
Have you obtained a legal separation at this stage?
Click to expand...
Thanks for commenting.
Early on I paid 4k, and bottom line was they never once informed me about potential future bills. Clearly I expected to pay something but the first time they landed an extra non itemized "estimate" retrospective to "complete" the case was just prior to a maintenance order in court.

It was going on for 5-7years but in no way all the time as I had backed half a number of times because of the damage that was being done to my son.

So really it has only been going on the last 2 years. And not even all the time then given covid etc

We both provided affidavits and mine was totally factual and everything outlined.

Hers was a fabrication with nothing about a job, lodgers or anything else including a lump sum I gave her which magically vanished.

I was Forced to trawl through 10 yrs of statements - she did nothing or was asked nothing of relevance.

That aside nothing was talked about me paying for pretty much everything for my son and having him most of the time.

In truth I am screwed. She will live a fairly happy, paid for life and I will suffer financially and emotionally - which have an impact on my son.

The courts truly don't care. Father's come off so badly..ecen those that pay and act responsibly and with the best interests of the child

It's a scam. And lawyers here, not all should be ashamed.
 
Do you have a breakdown of fees now, including barrister fees?
Is the 18k including the 4k that you paid early on?
Did you agree maintenance etc or was it court ordered?
You can go back to court if necessary to try adjust maintenance order.
I also had to trawl through years of bank statements as my now ex claimed that I had savings hidden.
I was able to document in detail that this was absolutely not the case. This is not something a solictor would do for you.
 
Thanks for the comment.
Absolutely not one single communication about any fees whatsoever or breakdown.
Simply a number of "threatening" emails saying the bill is on its way for 15 Grand plus the 4 that I have already paid.
Yes I went through 10 years of statements and none of that really matter in court in the end.
Ex still lied about her true income and she didn't have to talk about any of the lump sums that I have paid her or any of the care that I take for my son and also a rental property that I take care of for both of us.
Nothing was asked to her.

I think I will go back to court seeking a variation order and bring up the the income that she has not declared.

Her Solicitor did a great job of disparaging me and and telling lies about me in court, and she was allowed to speak I was told I could not.

Treated like scum.
 
What do you mean by "threatening" letters?
Who told you that you couldn't speak in court?
 
Well I don't actually mean threatening - I mean them saying bill on its way for a further 15k. With no detail. Numerous times. Days out from court and after court.

Plus this thing has moved not one bit. The judge said I couldnt talk.

So I had to sit there and listen to lies.
 
jonnyonions said:
Well I don't actually mean threatening - I mean them saying bill on its way for a further 15k. With no detail. Numerous times. Days out from court and after court.

Plus this thing has moved not one bit. The judge said I couldnt talk.

So I had to sit there and listen to lies.
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Did she serve the papers for separation/divorce?
I had something similar in that I filed for separation (which took months upon months to serve as ex changed solicitors multiple times). At the time i think it was a 5 year wait for divorce. Then when we got to court months later (he caused a delay which resulted in over 1k of additional fees for myself) his solicitor unexpectedly served divorce papers. Ex did get to speak in court. I didnt. I believe that I wasnt given the option. After years of trying to mediate, we ended up settling things through our solicitors on that day and judge had to rubber stamp it. But some BS my ex came out with while up there on the stand but at that stage it didnt matter. It cost me over 10k plus other moneys earlier for other local court appearances. It can eat you up big time and I was near financial ruin for years. Now things are better but years ahead now for a mortgage and covering all costs myself.
 
Just wanted to say to everybody here commenting - thank you guys.

I don't know if any others find any answers on these forums, but at the very least it is kind of therapeutic to hear that other people have gone through some similar situations. And that people are willing to offer advice and support.

As I'm sure for a lot of men and women, separation and divorce is really hard and having to go through a legal system that seems not to care is actually the tougher part.

Something really needs to be done in this country. Marriage break up shouldn't be a life sentence - and it often seems to be that way...... affecting all parties including the kids.

The judicial system is screwed up. The amount of money paid to these people, and the fact ordinary people can be treated as criminals in a "family"court, even when doing the right thing, when actual criminals are walking around is a disgrace.

Anyway, thanks to all for advice here - appreciated.
 
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