how to request attorney fees

• Ask your attorney whether his or her time is billed differently for trial work versus preparation. ...
• Ask the attorney to identify the type of work that is typically handled by people in the office other than the attorney.
• Ask the attorney how much experience they have handling your case. ...
• Ask to provide your own fees upfront. ...

Full Answer

What are the factors to be used as guides in fixing a reasonable attorney's fee?

As stated in Connors, the appropriate factors to be used as guides in fixing a reasonable attorney’s fee have been summarized as follows: 1. The time devoted to performing the legal service. 2. The time limitations imposed by the circumstances. 3.

What is the burden of proof for reasonable attorney fees in Tennessee?

The burden of proof for reasonable attorney’s fees is somewhat more stringent in post-divorce custody issues. The statute [T.C.A. §36-5-103 (c)] grants broad discretion of the trial court to award attorney fees in post-divorce proceedings as specified in the statute… However, the right is not absolute. It depends on the lack of resources on the part of the spouse seeking allowance of attorney fees. The Tennessee Court of Appeals, Middle Section, has taken the position that the ability to pay one’s own attorney’s fees should still be a factor for consideration when awarding fees, but not controlling. Specifically, in Sherrod v.Wix, the Court held that:

Can attorney fees be recovered?

By doing so, you preserve the right to be awarded attorney’s fees at a later date in the legal proceedings. If not included in the initial or amended pleadings or response, the issue is waived and attorney’s fees cannot be recovered.

Does the Tennessee Court of Appeals have to pay attorney fees?

The Tennessee Court of Appeals, Middle Section, has taken the position that the ability to pay one’s own attorney’s fees should still be a factor for consideration when awarding fees, but not controlling.

Can the court take into consideration the facts of a case?

The Court can , and usually will, also take into consideration the specific facts of the case, including fault, but this issue should not be wholly determinative of the decision to award attorney’s fees. The Supreme Court of Tennessee has previously held that “the burden of proof on the question of what is a reasonable fee in any case is upon ...

Can you recover attorney fees in a family court case?

By doing so, you preserve the right to be awarded attorney’s fees at a later date in the legal proceedings. If not included in the initial or amended pleadings or response, the issue is waived and attorney’s fees cannot be recovered.

How to write a request for attorney fees?

The request for attorney’s fees letter is written by someone from the attorney’s side (assistant or attorney himself) asking the client to pay the fees. Include the date on which the services were taken and also the amount of the fees. At the end of the letter also mention a deadline to pay the fees and the action that will take if the fees are not paid before that. Since this letter is written to the client, make sure you keep it polite and concise. Consider the example below to write an effective letter.

What is a request letter?

A request letter is a kind of letter that needs to be written with care. If you mess up in the letter, whether formal or informal, the reader may not accept the request. Thus, make certain that you pay attention to while writing the request letter. In this case, the request for attorney’s fees is a letter written to a client who has not paid ...

How do attorney fees shift?

The other way that attorney fees may be shifted to the losing party is through an agreement of the parties in a contract. The contract usually must be the foundation for the lawsuit, such as a breach of contract action, and the fee shifting provision must be clear and unambiguous. While many contracts attempt to create one-sided fee shifting ...

What is fee shifting agreement?

Such arrangements are often referred to as fee shifting agreements. When allowed by statute, there is usually an underlying public policy for fee shifting . In other words, if the case is one where the public interest is only served if the party is able to recover its attorney fees when it sues to enforce a right or obligation, ...

What is the prevailing party's duty to show the amount and reasonableness of the fees?

Additionally, once entitlement to the fees is established, the prevailing party must generally show the amount and reasonableness of the fees. This is often done through the use of affidavits, but in some instances it may be necessary to have an adversarial hearing at which evidence is given of the amount of the fees, ...

How do homeowners associations enforce their authority?

Because homeowners associations generally require their members to maintain their properties in certain condition and to pay maintenance fees, the only way the association would be able to enforce these requirements and maintain their existence and authority is through the use of law suits.

Can an association enforce its own fees?

However, if the association was forced to bear its own attorney fees, even when successful, most associations would be unable to enforce their rules or collect their dues . As a result, most states have enacted fee shifting statutes that apply to homeowners associations.

Can homeowners association cases be fee shifting?

Of course, homeowners association cases are not the only ones with a public policy that leads to fee shifting. Although they often vary from state to state and in federal jurisdictions, other examples might include class actions, lemon law suits, civil rights cases, antitrust lawsuits, etc.

Can you have a fee shifting in a divorce?

While not technically a fee shifting provision (i.e., there is no winner or loser in a divorce proceeding, so no pre vailing party attorney fees ), this can be used as a way to have a different party pay for the attorney fees. If you have a question about whether fee shifting will be an available option in your case, ask an attorney.

Why did the defendant not get attorney fees?

The trial court and the district court ruled that the defendant was not entitled to fees because he had failed to meet the pleading requirements of Stockman.

What is the role of motion for attorney fees?

The existence or nonexistence of a motion for attorney’s fees may play an important role in decisions affecting a case. For example, the potential that one may be required to pay an opposing party’s attorney’s fees may often be determinative in a decision on whether to pursue a claim, dismiss it, or settle.

What is the purpose of a pleading requirement?

The fundamental concern is one of notice. Modern pleading requirements serve to notify the opposing party of the claims alleged and prevent unfair surprise. 40 Fla. Jur. 2d Pleadings §2 (1982). Raising entitlement to attorney’s fees only after judgment fails to serve either of these objectives. The existence or nonexistence of a motion for attorney’s fees may play an important role in decisions affecting a case. For example, the potential that one may be required to pay an opposing party’s attorney’s fees may often be determinative in a decision on whether to pursue a claim, dismiss it, or settle. A party should not have to speculate throughout the entire course of an action about what claims ultimately may be alleged against him. Accordingly, we hold that a claim for attorney’s fees, whether based on statute or contract, must be pled. Failure to do so constitutes a waiver of the claim. 11

What is a waiver of a failure to plead?

It said that a party waives any objection to the failure to plead a claim for fees where that party has notice that an opponent claims entitlement to fees, and by its conduct recognizes or acquiesces to that claim or otherwise fails to object to the failure to plead entitlement.

Why was the motion denied in the case of the defendants?

The trial court denied the motion because the defendants had not requested fees in their pleadings, and because there had been no acquiescence during the pre-trial stage of the case.

How long does it take to file a motion to dismiss?

Until a rule is approved for cases that are dismissed before the filing of an answer, we require that a defendant’s claim for attorney fees is to be made either in the defendant’s motion to dismiss or by a separate motion which must be filed within thirty days following a dismissal of the action.

Do you have to file a counterclaim for attorney fees?

Although it might appear that a “claim” for attorneys’ fees should be controlled by Rule 1.170 (a), no court has said that a defendant must file a formal counterclaim to preserve a claim for fees.

What is reasonable attorney fees?

When a party requests an award of attorney fees, the party must establish that its request is reasonable, meaning that the time spent on the case by its attorneys was reasonable in the context of the factual and legal issues in dispute, and that its attorneys’ hourly rates are reasonable in the community in which the case is venue d. The party on the other end of the motion, of course, has the right to challenge the fee request. When such a challenge is made, the moving party may counter by seeking discovery of the objecting party’s attorney fees in the case. This is usually done for two reasons: (1) to try to back off the objecting party by creating the risk that its own attorney fees will be discoverable, and (2) to argue to the court that the best evidence of what is reasonable is what the objecting party paid in litigating the same legal and factual issues in the case.

Why is attorney fee information irrelevant?

To the extent factual information about hourly rates and aggregate attorney fees is not privileged, that information is generally irrelevant and nondiscoverable because it does not establish or tend to establish the reasonableness or necessity of the attorney fees an opposing party has incurred. A party’s litigation expenditures reflect only the value that party has assigned to litigating the matter, which may be influenced by myriad party-specific interests. Absent a fee-shifting claim, a party’s attorney-fee expenditures need not be reasonable or necessary for the particular case. Barring unusual circumstances, allowing discovery of such information would spawn unnecessary case-within-a-case litigation devoted to determining the reasonableness and necessity of attorney-fee expenditures that are not at issue in the litigation.

What is a party's litigation expenditure?

A party’s litigation expenditures reflect only the value that party has assigned to litigating the matter, which may be influenced by myriad party-specific interests. Absent a fee-shifting claim, a party’s attorney-fee expenditures need not be reasonable or necessary for the particular case.

Is it risky to oppose an opponent's request for attorney fees?

Because Wisconsin has not decided this issue as of yet, and other jurisdictions are split on the issue, it may be risky to oppose an opponent’s request for attorney fees on the grounds that the time spent by its attorneys was excessive or its attorneys’ hourly rates are unreasonable, particularly if it is anticipated that the attorney fees you spent likely exceed the attorney fees spent by your opponent .

Is discovery of attorney fees permissible?

The majority of courts hold that discovery of an objecting party’s attorney fees is permissible under these circumstances. As one court held, “the defendant’s fees may provide the best available comparable standard to measure the reasonableness of plaintiffs’ expenditures in litigating the issues of the case.”.