Question for lawyers - Do you charge clients for your mistakes

[Anonymous]

I'm the client. My attorney provided the process server with the wrong address to serve the lawsuit. I provided my attorney and paralegal with the correct address for the defendant. I thought they would obtain the address from more formal mechanisms such as the Secretary of State website vs. an email from the client. Second mistake, when the lawsuit was served, the complaint was not attached. The defendant was served again with the complaint attached. This led to a motion from opposing counsel to drop the lawsuit due to improper service. The judge denied the motion but seemed irked the complaint was omitted. I was billed for the legal fees and expenses related to the process server going to the wrong and then correct address and expenses for the hearing due to the omitted complaint. Is it common practice that the client is billed for errors made by the firm? I'm thinking of retaining another attorney. I would assume lawyers would be reluctant to take over a case where they have to clean up sloppy issues by the previous attorney.

[Anonymous]

Your writing is unclear.

What is the issue with the address? Why did they go to the wrong address at first? Did you give the wrong address? if so, that's on you.

Not attaching the complaint was their mistake. I would recommend you strike associated costs from the bill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your writing is unclear.

What is the issue with the address? Why did they go to the wrong address at first? Did you give the wrong address? if so, that's on you.

Not attaching the complaint was their mistake. I would recommend you strike associated costs from the bill.

I gave them the correct address. The defendant had a change of address about six months before the lawsuit was filed. I flagged the change of address to the attorney and paralegal.

[Anonymous]

Dispute the bill. Tell them you want the time spent on their errors deducted.

You can find another attorney if you want, these aren't errors that would keep someone from taking your case. However, you will pay a little for the new person to come up to speed on everything done already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dispute the bill. Tell them you want the time spent on their errors deducted.

You can find another attorney if you want, these aren't errors that would keep someone from taking your case. However, you will pay a little for the new person to come up to speed on everything done already.

This plus yo get no guarantees of an error free litigation going forward.

I still don’t understand the first problem you cite. But if you think you shouldn’t pay, dispute the bill. That being said, you have little clout unless you’re a big client and if you are difficult, which I can’t tell but I think based on your first complaint, you have potential to be, your attorney can move to be dismissed.

As to the actual question, firms I’ve hired (I hired and monitored outside
Counsel for a very large organization) would bill but at a reduced rate. You can’t hire perfection. If you’re paying big law rates, I would have cut all time spent on errors.

[Anonymous]

How close are you to the statute of limitations on your claim? That impacts your ability to find another lawyer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dispute the bill. Tell them you want the time spent on their errors deducted.

You can find another attorney if you want, these aren't errors that would keep someone from taking your case. However, you will pay a little for the new person to come up to speed on everything done already.

This plus yo get no guarantees of an error free litigation going forward.

I still don’t understand the first problem you cite. But if you think you shouldn’t pay, dispute the bill. That being said, you have little clout unless you’re a big client and if you are difficult, which I can’t tell but I think based on your first complaint, you have potential to be, your attorney can move to be dismissed.

As to the actual question, firms I’ve hired (I hired and monitored outside
Counsel for a very large organization) would bill but at a reduced rate. You can’t hire perfection. If you’re paying big law rates, I would have cut all time spent on errors.

DP, I think OP is very clear. The lawyer served the other party at the wrong address and without complaint attached. This led to OP paying twice for service, plus an extra hearing that would not have happened had the complaint been attached.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your writing is unclear.

What is the issue with the address? Why did they go to the wrong address at first? Did you give the wrong address? if so, that's on you.

Not attaching the complaint was their mistake. I would recommend you strike associated costs from the bill.

I gave them the correct address. The defendant had a change of address about six months before the lawsuit was filed. I flagged the change of address to the attorney and paralegal.

The "about" raises a concern.

Not sure that your lawyer did anything wrong if it was corrected within the Statute of Limitations.

Lawyers rely on addresses provided by the Secretary of State's office, not on a litigant's update.

[Anonymous]

I'm a lawyer who has a lawyer. I wouldn't pay for errors that cost me more than a trivial amount of money and were clearly due to the lawyer's negligence.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t pay for their errors, no.

[Anonymous]

You can negotiate the bill. You will not be the first client to do so.

[Anonymous]

Like other pps, I think the op is being unclear about the first issue re incorrect address, which makes me think it is not clear that the lawyer made an “error”. It is possible the lawyer was following reasonable legal practices, which resulted in using a wrong address. Again, op is not describing the situation clearly. In my experience (as a lawyer), this is often the sign of a client who is mad the address was wrong and they had to pay twice, rather than the sign of a lawyers negligence. This is often the MO of individuals as clients, who aren’t savvy and nickel and dime everything. Corporate clients are usually much better.

The second error seems more egregious, but again I’m not sure I fully believe that op is a reliable narrator here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like other pps, I think the op is being unclear about the first issue re incorrect address, which makes me think it is not clear that the lawyer made an “error”. It is possible the lawyer was following reasonable legal practices, which resulted in using a wrong address. Again, op is not describing the situation clearly. In my experience (as a lawyer), this is often the sign of a client who is mad the address was wrong and they had to pay twice, rather than the sign of a lawyers negligence. This is often the MO of individuals as clients, who aren’t savvy and nickel and dime everything. Corporate clients are usually much better.

The second error seems more egregious, but again I’m not sure I fully believe that op is a reliable narrator here.

Probably because individual clients have a lot less money...

[Anonymous]

The first mistake was on you. The second mistake wasn't even a mistake since the judge denied the motion to dismiss. If you're going to whine every time the opposing counsel challenges something you're in for a long process.

[Anonymous]

My understanding is OP is saying the defendant is a business who changed their legal address six months before the suit was filed. OP provided the updated, correct address to the attorney, but the attorney went off the Secretary of State listing, which had not yet been updated, and therefore delivered it to the wrong address. Then, they served it again but without the complaint so OP had to pay for another hearing. So the second mistake was totally the firm's fault and the first is borderline (reasonable to go off Secretary of State address but if they paid attention to detail they might have noticed the client gave a different address and inquired).