If lawyer have time to stroll 2+2 I guess it's really not a bad career

He's probably billing someone for it too

+1

LOL

I like my life.
I tend to have the timer running, but I discount based on how much of that time I wasted.

Nice, what does it feel like?

This is probably very correct and why I'm not gonna continue this nonsense.

It also does not mean my points have no validity.

This is a debate/argument that serves no purpose. I'm not going to spend my days trying to convince someone of something that is fact that unfortunately is so opposed to their views for whatever it's ridiculous. I do not have either the patience or desire to do so.

As has been stated this is also an ongoing situation for me and involved my 4 year old son that I have missed WAY to much time with that can be directly attributed to some of these matters.

I am neither violent to women nor condone that type of behavior. I do think many women are doing the wrong thing however. That's not to suggest that doing the wrong thing is mutually exclusive to that sex

I will not withdraw anything I said in regards to the topic. Some of the feminist comments may have been a bit much though.

That said there is plenty of information out there on the topic if you want to research it and form an informed opinion Kristy, that opinion however will not include my commentary or opinion.

Hope everyone is having a good day

You are correct.

My attitude towards women is probably not the best after the situation I have had over the last few years.

This is something I can openly admit and why I do not actively pursue long term relationships.

Again, hope everyone is having a good day and apologies to anyone I offended.

Stop the presses, emotive topics bring out emotions.

yeah this one is still probably a bit raw for me to be having serious conversations about is all and I'm willing to admit that

I don't think you have to worry about offending anybody, bro

I swear I get over billed all the time. And it's not like you can do anything about it.

This. LOL

Haha thanks

But I do try and admit where I'm in the wrong or have done the wrong thing. Doesn't happen all the time but I do try

I really don't overbill, to my own detriment. I hate the idea of charging people a bunch of $ for something they aren't getting any value for.

It adds up after a while (fees in general I mean). I am charged I believe in 6min increments (may be 12, i don't really pay attention that much anymore).

You'd be surprised how quickly random emails or 5 minute phone calls add up. Not to mention all the inconsequential costs such as printing and photocopying (this seems trivial but actually adds up also). It's not just the hourly rate when you're with them or barristers half daily rate you have to worry about.

Cliffs:

Lawyers charge lots and earn good money. Hope you never need one.

We don't charge for copying & crap. That's petty. We do charge in 6 minute increments (the smaller the increment the better it is for the client), & it certainly can add up.

I'd have to find a recent invoice not only do they charge for copying it goes something like hourly charge and 15c a page for printing/copying. This mainly appears around court dates and times where my barrister is briefed by my lawyer and I get a pile of charges in relation to that.

That was one of my biggest shocks on my first invoice / statement of deductions from trust

If we have to copy a bunch of stuff or print a lot of stuff, you'd get charged for the assistant's time, $140/hour, but not for the paper/ink blah blah blah.

Is the barrister like the lawyer who goes to court? Don't think we have a similar distinction here.

Yeah I have a lawyer I sit down with in the office etc and discuss my case or any pertinent information with. She is obviously also my day to day contact.

Barrister s who I attend court with and is obv briefed by the above but also takes direction from me whilst at court and provides me relevant info/instruction while there.

I also have the same setup for criminal so I'd suggest it may be pretty common place. That said I'm only speculating here and have def not had enough experience to accurately comment.

I know there are many who perform both functions but in my case it has always been put across like they are both specialists in their areas. Not sure the validity of that however. I just went to the best I could find and got out the check book / trust them.

These are my lawyers fwiw
http://www.taussigcherriefildes.com.au/

Yeah...the point of contact here is usually a legal assistant, or often for financial matters, me. The lead attorney is the one who does the initial consultation, is available to meet if necessary, & is the one who handles the court work as well.

It's true that in certain situations I'm performing a role similar to your attorney & my boss similar to the barrister, but we all work in the same office, you can meet with any of us, & we don't charge for interoffice communications about your case.

One of the partners at my reps is also a QC (Queens Council) who also reviews all cases and it is explained this is built into the fee. I'm pretty sure they are like the highest ranking lawyers in Australia.

My lawyer also has an assistant I however bypass this where possible and actually have my lawyers mobile/cell number which I call directly. A great deal of the email communication comes from her assistant however.

I have never minded the set up as my barrister is a gun literally and we are at the stage now where he is quite aware of my case and particulars.

That said especially early on it can be quite frustrating dealing with multiple parties and giving similar answers / having similar conversations especially on a topic you really don't want to be discussing at all.

But as stated before I probably went way overboard in regards to selecting representation.

I should have also downgraded many times. That said you always hope these matters are over quicker and simpler than they are which never occurs. And there is the hassle and time involved in finding new representation that you are comfortable with and going through everything again with them.

That said it would be savings of $100's an hour. At this point I can't see myself changing however especially not until after our 2 day final hearing in July.

fwiw I know my ex fiances lawyer/barrister = the same person from communication provided to me. But also know she gets government funding where as mine is all personally funded however (only stating this as being lawyer/barrister would significantly cut costs imo).

Might also be worth noting my barrister is contracted by my firm and always has been he is not directly employed by them (and disbursements from my trust account go directly to him as half day rates/blocks - $2200 per half day)

I wonder who's paying for that superbowl contest.

this thread needs more Kristy, you dirty men pigs