Legal Fees: Gross Overcharging By An Attorney Warranting Disciplinary Action

[no_hypocrisy]

Q: Is it unethical professionally for Rudy Giuliani to charge Trump and/or the RNC $ 20,000 a day for legal services?

A: It depends.

There are apparently three reasons for the continuing uncertainty about what constitutes a fee so excessive that the practitioner charging it must be punished. First, there is the inherent difficulty of defining a reasonable fee. This problem arises because no exact standard for fixing an attorney's fee exist, and a general feeling persists throughout the legal profession that it would be unjust to condemn a fee as unethical merely because it exceeds another's judgment of what is fair.

Secondly, there is the reluctance of attorneys to testify against their brethren whenever a matter of fees is involved. This reluctance is probably premised upon the subjective nature of fees and upon an attorney's unwillingness to condemn an amount charged by another solely on the basis of his own opinion.' However, this contention is strained when contrasted with the fact that attorneys are willing to testify to the reasonableness of their fellow attorneys' fee. Nor are courts unaware of this situation, and in at least one case, uncertainty in this area of legal ethics.

Finally, though there is now no doubt that exacting an unreasonable fee may subject an attorney to disciplinary action, courts seldom administer discipline against an attorney for over-charging. Indeed, the determination of whether a legal fee is so excessive as to warrant discipline is "a matter of equivocation and rationalization by the court." This is perhaps understandable in view of a number of significant factors which courts must take into consideration in reaching their decision. Among these factors are: (1) the age and experience of the attorney; (2) the desire not to deprive one of a livelihood; (3) the type of role which the attorney plays, his eminence at the bar, and any special skills he may have; (4) the diversity of factual situations; and (5) a single incident of overcharging versus a lifetime of such misconduct. And because of the numerous factors involved, cases dealing with exorbitant fees provide little clarity on the matter and still less support for a precise statement of existing law.

-more-

https://www.law.ua.edu/pubs/jlp_files/issues_files/vol02/vol02art09.pdf

[mnmoderatedem]

1. if Rudy charges over $1.98

it would qualify as Gross Overcharging

[Sherman A1]

2. If both parties accept the number

I see no problem. That is between them.

[arlyellowdog]

3. He's not in the bar

Someone posted that he didn’t pay his bar dues. Guess he figures they can’t kick him out of an establishment he’s already been kicked out of.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. You can make an application to a court where you aren't a member of the state bar to

represent a client ad hoc, (one time only) provided that you promise the Court that you will respect and obey the state's civil procedure rules, statutes, and caselaw. If you mess up with any of these, your client will come after you for malpractice.

[Buckeyeblue]

5. Rudy knows Trump won't pay him a dime

Rudy is doing all of this to secure a pardon for himself. Since he doesn't have the standard $1 million pardon fee, he has to work for his pardon.

But Rudy knows that in the end Trump will hang him out to dry. Rudy is an old man with a drinking problem that can't stand the thought of being forgotten. It's sad, really.

[dsc]

6. well here if he were to overturn the election somehow

it would easily be worth 20k a day to Trump, but given that it isn't going to happen even $1 a day is excessive.