Solicitor engaged to separate/divorce - did neither $$$$$

J

jonnyonions

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My solicitor was employed to get me separated / divorced - did neither and I am in a much worse financial decision than I ever was - it is like they acted for my ex, not me.
They now want 15k for work not finished to any acceptable standard.
Its like there was a leaky tap - a plumber was called and now theres a flood.

Anyone have any experience with this ? My solicitor did nothing for me, left me in a quagmire with nothing finalised - yet expects me to pay in full.
 
They would have given you a schedule of costs up front so you would have known what fees were being accumulated.

Your post is rather confused and jumbled and if that is similar to how you dealt with the solicitor then it may be a reason the solicitor was unable to complete the work in full.

They have decided to charge you for the work to date, I assume worried that you will not pay them at all. You could ask for a breakdown of the costs so far to determine if they tally with your records. Any task the solicitor does needs to be paid for, so a meeting, a letter, work on the file etc etc.

It would seem very unlikely that your solicitor acted for your spouse and not you. Your spouse would have had their own legal representative. But if that was the case then make a formal complaint, with your proof.

You also have issues with the standard of the work completed to date. Have you raised these with your solicitor. Perhaps it was as a result of missing information from you, requiring the work to be repeated.

Best of luck and I hope your divorce is sorted.
 
Thanks for the reply - my post was intended to be short, so not sure you need to compare that 4/6 line summary to my dealings with my solicitor.

I appreciate the advice and have done most of this - simply opening a discussion to chat with people in a potentially similar situation. Hence the reason for a forum like this.
 
The separation bit is relatively easy.

One partner packs their bags and leaves.

Getting a divorce is also relatively easy; you only need to establish two facts

a. You were legally married and
b. You have been living apart for the last 2 years.

What causes grief is the settlement issues; and I'm guessing thats where you have run aground.

So far as that goes, you have two options

1. Agree settlement issues yourselves
2. Ask a judge to make those decisions for you.

Longer it drags on the more it costs. €15k doesn't surprise me.
 
Thanks. And you’re absolutely right. It’s the settlement issues that are delaying, causing blockers.

Definitely trying to resolve it ourselves/myself but when one party feels aggrieved it’s very very tricky.

Without going into too much detail here, the 15k is so far without any of the issues really being dealt with - even when instruction to the solicitor was not carried out in any way.

Seriously appreciate your feedback though
 
jonnyonions said:
Without going into too much detail here, the 15k is so far without any of the issues really being dealt with - even when instruction to the solicitor was not carried out in any way.
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Is there any major assets involved like a business? Settlement can become very complicated in such a scenario especially where there is animosity.
 
Yes it’s the animosity that is the problem with dealing with this like adults.

The issue I’m most concerned with is solicitors being allowed to disregard client instructions and follow the lead from me and for the other side to require the absolute max from me - and then “my” solicitor expecting to be paid in full for a job not done. I’m left with a job undone-zero recourse.

I will be making a complaint to the LSRA but the system here is a little broken.

Thanks a million for your post
 
jonnyonions said:
My solicitor was employed to get me separated / divorced - did neither and I am in a much worse financial decision than I ever was - it is like they acted for my ex, not me.
They now want 15k for work not finished to any acceptable standard.
Its like there was a leaky tap - a plumber was called and now theres a flood.

Anyone have any experience with this ? My solicitor did nothing for me, left me in a quagmire with nothing finalised - yet expects me to pay in full.
Click to expand...
Section 150 (Of the Solicitors Act) requires legal practitioners to provide their clients with a notice written in clear language.

It must set out what legal costs will be incurred in relation to the matter.

The costs notice must be issued after a legal practitioner has received instructions, but before he or she has started providing the advice or legal service.

Where it is not ‘reasonably practicable’ for a legal practitioner to disclose legal costs after initial instructions from a client, the practitioner must set out the basis on which the legal costs are to be calculated e.g. hourly rates.

As soon as it become practicable to do so, the legal practitioner shall provide the client a notice setting out what legal costs will be incurred.

see here https://www.lsra.ie/for-law-professionals/your-legal-costs-duties/

If the solicitor has not done this you can complain to the Law Society, or at least threaten to do so.
 
cremeegg said:
As soon as it become practicable to do so, the legal practitioner shall provide the client a notice setting out what legal costs will be incurred.
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How is this even remotely possible in a contentious family law situation where so much depends on the attitude and approach of the other side and is therefore unforeseeable with any level of certainty?
 
jonnyonions said:
I will be making a complaint to the LSRA but the system here is a little broken.
Click to expand...

Hi Jonny

Have you changed solicitors?

That is the first thing to do when the service is not satisfying you.

Focus on solving your problem first. Leave the LSRA until later.

1) There are some incompetent solicitors
2) There are many more competent solicitors who have clients with unrealistic expectations or who are irrational.
3) There are also competent solicitors dealing with an incompetent solicitor on the other side or the ex maybe unrealistic and irrational.

It's impossible from the brief information you have provided to work out which of these categories you fall into to.

Brendan
 
T McGibney said:
How is this even remotely possible in a contentious family law situation where so much depends on the attitude and approach of the other side and is therefore unforeseeable with any level of certainty?
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I take your point totally - but its insane that even in a contentious situation that an upper limit be kept.
I also think its fair to assume that if you employ a solicitor to do something, they don't do it, you end in a worse situation, and they expect full fees for completing 50% of the work, and not to their clients satisfaction.
 
jonnyonions said:
I take your point totally - but its insane that even in a contentious situation that an upper limit be kept.
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I don't see your point. The whole point of a contentious legal case is that the sky's the limit in terms of cost if the other party is sufficiently difficult and awkward.
jonnyonions said:
I also think its fair to assume that if you employ a solicitor to do something, they don't do it, you end in a worse situation, and they expect full fees for completing 50% of the work, and not to their clients satisfaction.
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I couldn't possibly comment without knowing what has happened in your case to date, ie whether the difficulty arises from the opposing side, or from your solicitor's failings. Brendan's post above is a good place to start.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
Hi Jonny

Have you changed solicitors?

That is the first thing to do when the service is not satisfying you.

Focus on solving your problem first. Leave the LSRA until later.

1) There are some incompetent solicitors
2) There are many more competent solicitors who have clients with unrealistic expectations or who are irrational.
3) There are also competent solicitors dealing with an incompetent solicitor on the other side or the ex maybe unrealistic and irrational.

It's impossible from the brief information you have provided to work out which of these categories you fall into to.

Brendan
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Thanks Brendan. Trying to do so, but even that is a little tricky as they have asked was there a contentious issue at play with the last solicitor - which there was/is. So thats a work in progress.

I thought they were doing a good job, until they weren't i.e. when court loomed

I agree with you on solving the problem first - very sensible advice. Problem is theyre not budging on costs - and not admitting any fault whatsoever.

1. yes, there are
2. Yes definitely - maybe there is a case there as these things are rarely simple - was I at fault at certain times? Probably - however, I asked for a, didnt get a, got C-, expected to pay, and will have to begin the whole process again, paying the same or more.
3. true - but the other side seem to have done a stellar job

And agree with you 100% on where blame, fault lies - its with all parties tbh.

Appreciated Brendan. Good to hear other thoughts - if for sanity sake.

cheers
 
T McGibney said:
I don't see your point. The whole point of a contentious legal case is that the sky's the limit in terms of cost if the other party is sufficiently difficult and awkward.

I couldn't possibly comment without knowing what has happened in your case to date, ie whether the difficulty arises from the opposing side, or from your solicitor's failings. Brendan's post above is a good place to start.
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Sky cannot be the limit. Contentious or not - a legal professional should state whether there is an upper cap, or be prepared to walk away - SKY = unlimited funds to spend on this - which is bananas.

Thanks though.
 
jonnyonions said:
Sky cannot be the limit. Contentious or not - a legal professional should state whether there is an upper cap, or be prepared to walk away - SKY = unlimited funds to spend on this - which is bananas.

Thanks though.
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The problem is that this is largely out of your solicitor's control, and if they walk away at a critical point, you will have nobody to defend you against the possibly ridiculous claims of the other side and their legal people.

I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy and can only hope it goes relatively well for you. Good luck with it in any event.
 
T McGibney said:
The problem is that this is largely out of your solicitor's control, and if they walk away at a critical point, you will have nobody to defend you against the possibly ridiculous claims of the other side and their legal people.

I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy and can only hope it goes relatively well for you. Good luck with it in any event.
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Thanks, appreciate it - its not good at all.
 
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