Posted by
Bill Cherry on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 8:40:12 AM
TORT LAWYER FEES -- NO LIMITED WARRANTY GIVEN
By Dallas Realtor Bill Cherry
Most goods and services come with some sort of guarantee to the purchaser. And while as many as thirty years back they began calling them “limited warranties” rather than just plain “warranties,” whichever the title, they all seem to assure that what you’ve bought will work.
I often muse that the most expensive services most of us buy come with no written or implied warranty at all. And the public puts up with it.
Two of those are medical treatment and attorney services. And neither of those comes cheap.
Tort lawyers throughout Texas have managed to escalate their hourly fees to $250 or more, and frankly the fee has nothing to do with their success ratio. One told me, “I raised my fee when I found out ‘everyone’ else had raised his.”
But what is a profound bit of sociology is that attorneys expect the same fee whether the outcome of their client’s case is win, lose or draw. Yet, when they lose your case, their representation to you was worth zero.
A homeless man on the street could have represented you just as well. Unfortunately he doesn’t have a law license.
So it makes me wonder if there shouldn’t be two fees. The fee you pay if your attorney wins, and the fee you pay if he loses. I’ll bet we’d get far better representation. I'll bet there'd be far fewer attorneys.
Copyright 2007 – William S. Cherry
All rights reserved
Dallas Homes Highland Park Homes Galveston Historical Homes