Reposting- Probono lawyer asking huge fees many years after case closed... Help?

Question

My Probono lawyer helped me with a case 7 years back when i was unemployed. i ad signed no contract with this lawyer and this was a probono case .case was closed about 6-7 yrs back . i moved to different state just after case c losed. i now get a letter from a debt collection agency indicating that lawyer is trying to collect $30K in fees from me 7 years after . Can he do that ? With no contract ? from the letter it appears that he had files a notice last year and a judgement ws made for me to pay that money ? i never got anything in mail ..no notice..etc ..this is the first letter i am getting in 7 years . Please help what should i do?

Answer 1

Ask for documentation proving the debt exists, if they fail to provide you with it and they have in any way damaged your reputation i/e credit score seek legal counsel.  

Answer 2

Sorry to say this, but you need a lawyer.  This isn't something to try to resolve yourself.

Answer 3

Did your lawyer go senile and forget it was a pro bono case? Call him up and ask him to clarify it. The judgment could be vacated by agreement (he needs to agree it was a mistake to sue you), by failure of proper notice to you, by passage of time due to statute of limitations, or maybe the debt collection agency is at fault. Sometimes they buy up old cases (debts) from service providers and try to fool you into paying them.  That jurisdiction may have a fee dispute resolution service through the bar association. Try them as well.  But you need to go through the process in the state where you used to live.

Further info:  Call the state bar association in the state where the lawyer is licensed to see if they have a department or committee that handles fee disputes with lawyers.

Also every state has adopted a "statute of limitations" that sets a specific time limit on when a person can sue to collect money, usually between 3 and 6 years.  To see if that applies in your case, you will need to get copies of the initial pleadings the lawyer (or collection agency) filed against you to confirm date of filing and check the law in that jurisdiction to determine the time limit for filing a claim or lawsuit.

Answer 4

If you did not have a written agreement, then the best the lawyer could claim was verbal agreement, and in most states this type of agreement has a statute of limitations much less then 7 years. I heard once that lawyers don't sue for unpaid bills, but not sure of that. What I would do is write the collection agency and tell them you owe nothing, quit calling you, you will not open another letter from them and if you hear from them you are going to contact both Attorney's General of both states, where you lived and where you once lived.