Disputing a fee without alienating my attorney.?

Question

My attorney did some work for me which amounted to writing a letter, there were phone calls and background discovery and so forth. For this I paid him several thousand dollars and I don't have any problems. I paid him and left the $1000 retainer untouched, for future needs. Then out of the blue he writes me an email telling me there has been further action taken by the position which I already knew. I emailed him back a short reply. For this he sends me a bill for $122.00 and I'm hurt and angry To me this real money how do I handle this situation. Of course when you read something on yahoo answers you expect it to be biased towards the the author but honestly it comes down to two short e-mails. I'd like this guy to continue as my counsel but not he's planning on pilfering the retainer.

Answer 1

I am an attorney, and if I had a client with your complaint, here's what would work for me.

Your question is honest and forthright. You like your lawyer, and you have confidence in him. Tell him so. You don't want to hire anyone but him. Tell him so. And you feel that he overcharged you in one instance. Tell him so. You think it's rather nit-picky to bill you for every second he thinks of you; and wouldn't it be better if he billed you in larger blocks of time, looking at the bigger ppicture? Rather than sending out annoying bills for so little time spent? If I was your lawyer, I would listen to you, and I would cooperate with you.