Evening all.

Appreciate some advice/wisdom/random trolling from the collective.

In brief just finished a somewhat protracted divorce. Said protraction being primarily caused by the turgid nature of our court system and how they deal with financial settlements.

Having agreed a kind of outline deal with my ex through mediation, when she got serious I thought to myself that I needed a lawyer to guide me.

Met with partner at local firm and having looked at where me and ex were up to he offered (and I accepted) a deal whereby he would help negotiate a legally binding consent order and fees would be capped at £1,000 as long as it didn’t get contentious and go to court.

I signed a contract that had his standard terms of payment on (I didn’t read the small print because I’m a ****).

I got an interim bill in November last year for approx £2k. I emailed him and said thanks for the update, but we agreed on £1,000 max. He emailed back to say Ah yes, but things have proven to be more complicated than originally envisaged.. (so he’s effectively admitted that there was an agreement)

I left it at that and it continued. And continued (it did get complicated with a very finnicky judge as all consent orders have to be signed off by a judge. But it never went to court).

So, to cut a long story short, it’s all done now and I’m expecting a final bill which will almost certainly be to the tune of many thousands. Whilst I accept that it has proven to be more complex and time consuming than either of us thought, I suspect that I’m going to have an issue with the size of the bill. I would probably accept a doubling of his initial offer. But given we had achieved that in November, I’m thinking quadruple, maybe more.

So from a legal perspective what is my position? Can I insist on the original offer, or am I bound by the contract I signed? Does the fact that he has effectively admitted that such a deal existed carry any weight? As I said I’m minded to pay more than originally agreed, but only up to a point. If it went to court, would I have a leg to stand on?

Apologies for the life story, but context is everything!

Thanks in advance..

He should have updated you at the point 1000 was reached.

I’d get some legal advice

You knew it was 2k and carried on using them. Without querying fee would probably mean acceptance of amounts on a rolling basis. But that’s only my guess

Thanks guys. I like the (I suspect intended) irony of get some legal advice!
I would argue that he forgot about, or never intended to honour, the ageeed flat rate.
I guess it depends on whether the contract replaced or superseded the verbal agreement and whether the fact that I continued to use him having queried the interim bill and having had his somewhat opaque (it could easily be read as “we will need to discuss this further”) response, indicates tacit acceptance that the rules of engagement have changed.
Like I said before, not trying to run away from my responsibilities, just taking stock after a long and very stressful process and thinking how exactly does my situation with him play out and what is the legal position?
Thanks again for any input

If all else fails, their terms of business will give details of who you can complain to if you feel it necessary. If that’s worth your hassle/extra stress is another thing.

Was the £1000 cap in the contract you signed?

Legal types need everything written down and signed else they can do whatever they like.

However I would have expected contact at £1k to inform of the position and that to proceed any further would require more money, and thus you sign a further agreement.

fees would be capped at £1,000 as long as it didn’t get contentious and go to court.

Guessing that’s what’s happened though?

I would say that if you signed a contract which did not explicitly contain the aforementioned cap, you are on a hiding to nothing challenging the bill now.

He has a contract in writing, you have some verbal agreement or other. You lose, and potentially spend many more thousands in the process.

In the OP’s shoes, I’d await the final bill, then quibble on the basis of the £1K cap, looking to get it discounted 10-15%.

Fella ask for an update on their proposed fee position and then let me know by email what they say and let’s take it from there.

So, the contract you signed had the standard Ts and Cs, and the variation was subject to a verbal agreement – you have his email acknowledgement that there was a variation – what is missing here is any kind of definition or agreement re what “contentious” means.

You could probably argue that he failed to clearly define “contentious” and have some fun with it, but I imagine you are utterly sick of this whole business, and he is a lawyer and you are a civilian.

Offer him half the difference in full and final settlement ?

Wait for the bill. Then discuss your agreement. Then submit a formal complaint through the firms proper process.

Your complaint would probably be that you agreed a capped fee arrangement, that isn’t what he sent you to sign and you think that basically you were tricked.

“small print” can often be worked around in consumer contracts. Payment terms aren’t really small print – they are the key part of the deal so there may well be an expectation that you read what you signed.

Thanks all. Reviving this as have now had final bill from solicitor (he actually emailed me a few weeks ago with it but missed it in tranche of work emails). It is for an amount that I initially suspected it would be. I have gone back to politely query it, referencing our original agreement. I await his response!