Extortionate lawyer invoice

[Pooshy]

I've received my lawyers bill and it seems hugely excessive in terms of how much time he's supposedly spent

He's also charged 1.5 hours to write the letter of engagement - can he charge me for this?

Lawyers are expensive! Did you discuss fee scale before they took the case on?

I would be interested to know as well. I am guessing it probably took anywhere up to 15 minutes to write the letter.

Check the terms of the letter of engagement - it should give an hourly rate and and an overall estimate.
1 and half hours does sound a lot for drafting the letter of engagement, but does that include going through a lot of pape rs, checking charges payable like taxes/ other professional feed and complying with money laundering regulations?
Just phone and ask them.

Lawyers write their own letters??

I'd have thought they dictate then it's transcribed by their PAs/Admin team who'll be on £8-£12 p/h, do yes I think it's high.

You can ask for clarification on the fees

When I was a legal secretary the lawyers charged in 6min blocks and iirc it was £35 per 6mins.

If they responded to an email with a one liner that's £35, every email that gets an acknowledgment, £35 etc etc

Yes they can charge for the letter of engagement, why wouldn't they?

If your not happy do question it. I have been involved in a case which has ended up in court where the claimants own barrister has stood up in court and said that the claimants solicitors schedule of costs was vastly inflated and the judge lowered by 75% what he was owed.

Thanks everyone

Appreciate the replies, guess I'll just have to suck it up!!

Engagement letters can take a long time to write. My husband isn't a lawyer, he's a banker, but when he's writing an engagement letter they can be long and detailed and take hours to get right!

Letters of engagement take a while.

It's a lot of stop and starting looking at paperwork. Lawyers draft it (using their brains and many many years of legal training) yes the secretary might type it but that's not what you're charged for lol! You're charged for the actual drafting, summarisation and setting out of the matter which takes a lawyer's knowledge and expertise.

It's a bloody stressful job. I don't think people understand.

It usually takes me about a half hour to do a letter of engagement - but I don’t need a lot of detail and there will be no ‘advice’ given in the document.

But yes - we sell out time and knowledge, usually for a set rate per hour. You can keep costs down by giving very precise instructions, always getting to the point In calls and emails, acting on our advice quickly, and being prompt about giving us any info we need from you.

In Return you should have a clear estimate from your lawyer, setting out expected costs (in advance) and clarity on hourly fees. If the estimate is going to be exceeded, you should be told before billing occurs.

When I got divorced, my solicitor sent me a list of her charges. The ones which amazed me were £17.50 (plus VAT) for reading an email. £17.50 (plus VAT) for replying to an email!! Oh and the minimum charge for a phone call plus extra for every 2 minutes after the initial 6 minutes! Needless to say, any necessary phone calls were blunt and to the point from me - no small talk! I think she charged me £175 per hour plus VAT for face to face.

She was worth every penny though - got the paperwork drawn up exactly as we wanted it to be.

I have worked at 4 law firms and not one has charged for a letter of engagement. They are pretty pro forma, usually prepared by PAs with some input on the matter type/who will be involved from the solicitor. No chance that it would take 1.5 hours to draft.

I think your lawyer is being a CF OP.