Noorah101

Hi All,

Just out of curiousity, I wondered what you all would do in this situation:

My attorney, whom I paid up front to help me with my fiance's K1 visa, has been on maternity leave for about 6 weeks now, and won't be back until sometime in January. She appointed her associate to take over her cases while she's on leave. So when Packet 3 arrived at the attorney's office, the secretary called me and said the associate wants to see me about it, and we made an appointment. I went in for the appointment, armed with pretty much everything necessary for the P3, and didn't find out anything I didn't already know (I had tons of questions). To be honest, I didn't get a very good feeling from the associate, I didn't feel confident that she was as competent as my own attorney. However, the way we left it was that the associate told me to email her (not to call since she's VERY busy) with any questions and she'd be available to help.

Two days later I got a bill for $50 for a consultation visit with her! I called and told her secretary that I felt I shouldn't have been charged, since she was appointed by my attorney to help me (I assumed under the same conditions my own attorney would have), and they called me to come in, I didn't request it. She said she'd talk to the associate about it.

Meanwhile, I emailed the associate asking her a few more questions about putting P3 together, and also mentioned that it was my understanding that the attorney would write the cover letter, organize the materials, and ship it out to Ankara. The associate finally wrote back to me (almost 2 weeks later) and said yes, they can do all that for me, but I would need to set up another appointment to go over everything (again) and that there would be a fee for that.

Sorry for ranting, but I was wondering if anyone else has had to deal with this type of thing. I'm wondering if it's OK if I just send out P3 myself without going through the attorney's office. I guess I could just fork over another $50 for her to do this....although it doesn't sound right to me. If my attorney "appoints" someone else to do her work while she's gone, why should I have to pay extra?

The bottom line is.....is it worth it to pay the extra money to have it sent out via the attorney's office (even though I don't really trust the associate will do more than I've already done), OR take it upon myself to ship out P3 on my own?? I will have everything ready to go by Friday Dec. 12 and really don't want to wait another couple of weeks for the associate to get around to it. :-(

Thanks for listening and providing your input, experiences, suggestions, or "rolling eyes" at Rene's confusion once again. :-)

Rene

jeffreyhy

Rene,

What does your agreement with the original attorney say?

If these attorneys are part of the same organization, I would expect that your agreement is with the organization, not the attorney. And even if it is with the attorney, unless this is a small 2 or 3 person partnership hopefully the organization will have a head person who can work this out for you.

If the person your attorney has appointed to handle her work is truly independent (business-wise) of your attorney, you may have a bigger problem.

Anyway, the first thing I would do is find out who is the top dog in the firm and discuss the issue with that person.

Regards, JEff

Dekka's Angel

Did you have a written agreement with the attorney for the K-1? If so, read it carefully. It should set forth clearly what is, and what is not, included. Oftentimes, clients do not read and understand their retainer agreements thoroughly, and miss important exclusions (not saying that you did, just saying that it happens).

*If* your written contract truly provides for *everything* to be handled for one fixed price, and you paid it, then it doesn't matter who your original attorney delegated to do the work - that new attorney has to live with the retainer agreement. Especially in a situation where a partner delegates to an associate - it's the same law firm. I believe the State Bar in your state will confirm this for you

lpdiver

Dis here coonass would call the original attorney at her house and voice my concerns and questions with her.

Dekka's Angel

You say this to say/imply what? Exactly?

P.S. Calling your lawyer at their home without permission is highly inappropriate - almost nobody pays their attorney for that level of service. And in this case, the inappropriate conduct is also wholly unnecessary given what Rene has written as her facts. A quick call to the Bar will straighten things out if gentle negotiation will not, assuming that she truly has paid a flat fee for everything relating to her petition.

lpdiver

Oh yeah having the bar association will endear her vastly with her attorney. Again I would politely speak with my attorney on the phone. I am sure she would return a call if the request was made politely. I was not suggesting a two am call in an agitated state. The facts are she is receiving lesser representation than before and that is unacceptable.

Dekka's Angel

I agree with your last statement wholeheartedly, and disagree with the first.

But you didn't answer my question. I would like to know what you meant/implied by this phrase:

"Dis here coonass....."

Thank you.

Noorah101

Uh-oh. I guess I did a foolish thing. We never had a written agreement as to what will or won't be done. My bad.

My attorney quoted me the fee verbally, and stated that it includes everything from filing the I-129F to the day my fiance enters the states. I'm usually pretty good about getting things in writing, I don't know why I let this important factor slip. I paid her an initial consultation fee ($75), and then once I decided to hire her, paid the rest of the fee (it was $750) spread over 3 payments. All I have are the receipts from her office that show I paid. No written contract....dang it.

Both of their business cards read "The Law Offices of *my attorney's name*". They have separate cards, and under their respective names it says "Attorney and Counselor at Law". So I'm assuming my attorney is the Lead Attorney.

I feel like an idiot for not having been more prepared in case something like this came up. Although I guess it's not a big deal, it's bothersome to me. Lesson learned.

So, do you think it's OK for me to return the P3 materials myself, or is it better to have it come officially from the attorney's office?

Dekka's Angel

This indicates to me that they are in practice together, whether or not the "formalities" of partnership and/or partner/associate exist. The test for affiliated practices is whether or not the *client* believes they are working together based on the conduct of the lawyer. Thus, IMO the second attorney must live with the financial relationship negotiated by the first lawyer in his office.

I cannot say which is better, Rene, but what I can say is that even if you pay the $50 now, I'd fight to get it back based on what you described. Its up to you to decide whether or not you have the confidence in the second lawyer's abilities, since none of us have met him.

lpdiver

Oh I am a french acadian from arcadia/nova scotia. We are called coonasses....It is a ethnic term...it was not meant to offend and it is not considered offensive here...sorry if you misunderstood....reflecting I can see in hind sight how some could take it out of context.

Dekka's Angel

Please be forewarned so you don't make an innocent and dangerous mistake in passing.

The term coon to refer to people is highly offensive here in any decent community. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it falls within the Chaplinsky defniition of fighting words in some communities.

Thanks for the clarification of your intent. Although having just checked the etymology of the term you used, I'm not sure why anyone would proudly refer to themselves as that, either. /shrug

lpdiver

1. I never said coon...i said coonass
2. I apologise...for the use of a term refering to fun loving white frence people of Acadian decent....I never though that would offend.
3. having married outside of my race I suspect I am far less racially motivated than you infer

Katie

Rene,

If you feel comfortable completing the P3 materials yourself, I don't see why it would make a difference to the consulate/NVC, except that there might be some confusion as to whether to send any follow-up correspondance to the attorney to to you and your fiance.

Katie

PS: Are you sending Sadegh's original passport or a photocopy?

jeffreyhy

lp,

ahhhhhh... here we have an excellent example of culture clash (if you're telling the truth), and why one must be very careful of using terms - especially ethnic terms - from one culture in another.

A 'coon' is something very different here in the USA, and it has a very ugly ethnic historical connotation.

Regards, JEff

Katie

Perhaps your original attorney made a note in your file regarding the fees that she quoted to you. Before deciding on an attorney, I consulted three attorneys. Each one had me fill out an "intake" sheet (name, contact info, general description of the problem, etc.) At the consultation, each attorney quoted me a fee and then wrote the quote on the intake sheet.

Just a thought.

Katie