1. A written fee agreement provided for a nonrefundable fee. I returned most of the fee to client anyway.
2. Client was to provide information to be obtained from another State BEFORE we could proceed. Client did not provide this information for several weeks during which time there were phone conversations with client concerning client's delay in obtaining the necessary information.
3. When client finally determined that he could not obtain the necessry information, he called and wanted IMMEDIATE attention to his matter.
4. At the time I received the information that client was not going to be able to obtain the necessary information, I was engaged in several court hearings and other pressing matters. There was then a short delay in taking the first step in client's case.
5. The first step was to produce a demand letter containing a description of the factual scenario provided by client and requiring the other party to comply with applicable law. I produced a draft of this letter. Client responded via e-mail with changes and, at that point, we were ready to proceed. The final draft of the letter (after spell checking, etc.) was A+ work and I am convinced that it would have ultimately produced results had client been patient.
6. Client decided not to proceed citing the delay (much of which had been caused by his own delay in gathering documents for me) and the fact that not all of his calls were returned as promptly as he would have liked.
Be aware - as was this client - I am a sole practitioner and, when I am in trial or engaged in multiple hearings as I was during this period, it is simply not possible for me to return all calls immediately. When I am in trial or in hearings, I must focus on the trials and hearings and returning calls must take second priority.
If you are looking for an attorney who is able to return all of your calls immediately, be prepared to pay that attorney much more than you pay me. I pride myself in producing the best results for my clients as cheaply as possible. For that reason, I DO NOT have a large, expensive staff or a large, expensive office.
I provide excellent service to my clients at very reasonable prices and have NEVER ripped anyone off.
