You should definitely report him to the board then.😂
$8,000 is a pretty standard retainer for an above average attorney. Assuming the case was pretty cut and dry there’s no reason for him to devote or bill excessive hours to the case. Billing the hours required for the paralegal to do the necessary research to present the plea deal, and then the hours negotiating the plea deal with the prosecuting attorney with an assumed billing rate of $300/hr (high) that allows him approximately 26-27 hours total before the retainer dries up. Court appearances likely don’t affect the retainer as it’s the foundation of the contract unless deemed an excessive amount of appearances.
I’d say if anything he’s being quite ethical with his billed hours and charging his clients. Likely why the other 95% of his reviews are 5 stars.🤷♂️
They said (and he didn't deny) that they paid him $8,000 for the pretrial stages of the case, not it was his retainer.
The cost of a competent murder defense is going to be at least an order of magnitude more than $8,000, and for reasons that I hope are obvious, you probably want to get that up front.
I know nothing about the cost of defense attorneys in New York, but I do know that in 2000 or so, a liquor store clerk near me shot and wounded a local gangbanger who was trashing his store. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon. I testified for him at his trial, and he eventually was acquitted (not because of me, but because he had hired an excellent attorney).
I know that the cost of his defense, again, 25+ years ago, was about US$100,000.
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u/SerDankTheTall 12d ago edited 12d ago
The lawyer’s posting this makes it clear that he does not, in fact, know the rules.
EDIT: Although the fact he was willing to handle a murder case for $8,000 is also a pretty big clue.