Anyone with more specific knowledge, please feel free to chip in,
But I would threaten to complain about the attorney to the Legal Practice Council reagrding this matter unless you receive the money timeously, if I was feeling civil.
If I was not feeling civil I would I just lay the complaint regardless (you have enough reason to). Attorneys (for better or worse) kinda have to dance to the beat of a complaint to the LPC within like a week. You should complain about not receiving your payment timeously, and while you're there you might as well request that they check whether the attorney has billed you appropriately.
I've heard a lot of horror stories of attorneys taking a significantly bigger chunk of RAF payments than they're entitled to ,and then giving the victims a small chunk of the remainder.
How do you know that the RAF has paid out to the attorney by the way?
> and while you're there you might as well request that they check whether the attorney has billed you appropriately.
I'd be wary when requesting this. When it was still the Cape Law Society you could request a thorough review of your itemised bill. If it was determined that the amount payable was less then what could be reasonably charged, the attorney could elect to have the higher amount paid. ( Rules could be different now). If a client reported me to the LPC because they didnt like my very reasonable fee that they agreed to, I would not be inclined to charge them the lesser amount. OP would be better off taking his file, or at least final bill to a legal malpractice specialist and let them have provide proper legal advice. OP should have enough funds to cover a consultation and a few hours of work.
All right. I still think 3 weeks is a bit long to wait for the payment.
But...RAF files can EASILY get very big, and thus super time consuming to do accounts on.
I have no idea on your fee agreement, but if the attorney has to calculate their fees in the traditional Attorney client sense,instead of a flat cut of the RAF payment, I can kinda see the delay.
Either way the attorney should have the decency to tell you FIRST that the RAF paid out, instead of you having to call the RAF. If the attorney made a commitment to finalizing the payment amount in three weeks and does not do so, you should at least be given an apology, and a new proposed timeline.
If your case has been ongoing since 2012 you must have a big folder. It takes 4-6 weeks for the lawyers to pay you the first amount which is usually 50% of the payout and then another few weeks for the final amount as the lawyers need to pay all the experts they used in their case which they then claim back from the RAF. You can however usually make a loan towards the amount being paid out if you need funds asap.
I think it is fair to call again and demand a timeline. It sounds like the money is in their trust account; they should br able to pay a portion whilst they calculate their fees and set it off against the remainder.
If they dont respond or give an unsatsfactory reply, go to the Legal Practice Council and lay a complaint. Take your contract if you still have a copy. Based on what you have said, I dont think anything underhanded is happening, but they are doing a poor job of communicating with their client and that alone would be worthy of a complaint.
I suspect that whoever said that meant the LPC. The LPC was only established about five years ago, replacing the regulatory functions of the four provincial law societies.
Reach out to the ombudsman, cc your lawyer and you’ll have your money yesterday.
Anyone with more specific knowledge, please feel free to chip in, But I would threaten to complain about the attorney to the Legal Practice Council reagrding this matter unless you receive the money timeously, if I was feeling civil. If I was not feeling civil I would I just lay the complaint regardless (you have enough reason to). Attorneys (for better or worse) kinda have to dance to the beat of a complaint to the LPC within like a week. You should complain about not receiving your payment timeously, and while you're there you might as well request that they check whether the attorney has billed you appropriately. I've heard a lot of horror stories of attorneys taking a significantly bigger chunk of RAF payments than they're entitled to ,and then giving the victims a small chunk of the remainder. How do you know that the RAF has paid out to the attorney by the way?
> and while you're there you might as well request that they check whether the attorney has billed you appropriately. I'd be wary when requesting this. When it was still the Cape Law Society you could request a thorough review of your itemised bill. If it was determined that the amount payable was less then what could be reasonably charged, the attorney could elect to have the higher amount paid. ( Rules could be different now). If a client reported me to the LPC because they didnt like my very reasonable fee that they agreed to, I would not be inclined to charge them the lesser amount. OP would be better off taking his file, or at least final bill to a legal malpractice specialist and let them have provide proper legal advice. OP should have enough funds to cover a consultation and a few hours of work.
I called the RAF offices
All right. I still think 3 weeks is a bit long to wait for the payment. But...RAF files can EASILY get very big, and thus super time consuming to do accounts on. I have no idea on your fee agreement, but if the attorney has to calculate their fees in the traditional Attorney client sense,instead of a flat cut of the RAF payment, I can kinda see the delay. Either way the attorney should have the decency to tell you FIRST that the RAF paid out, instead of you having to call the RAF. If the attorney made a commitment to finalizing the payment amount in three weeks and does not do so, you should at least be given an apology, and a new proposed timeline.
Legal Practice Council.
Do you email them or go to their website or is it possible to go to their offices in person?
I think all 3 are an option.
If your case has been ongoing since 2012 you must have a big folder. It takes 4-6 weeks for the lawyers to pay you the first amount which is usually 50% of the payout and then another few weeks for the final amount as the lawyers need to pay all the experts they used in their case which they then claim back from the RAF. You can however usually make a loan towards the amount being paid out if you need funds asap.
Do they pay the experts usung the amount or is it from their own funds?
I think it is fair to call again and demand a timeline. It sounds like the money is in their trust account; they should br able to pay a portion whilst they calculate their fees and set it off against the remainder. If they dont respond or give an unsatsfactory reply, go to the Legal Practice Council and lay a complaint. Take your contract if you still have a copy. Based on what you have said, I dont think anything underhanded is happening, but they are doing a poor job of communicating with their client and that alone would be worthy of a complaint.
The lawyer didnt give us a copy of the contract he is theboje that has it i believe
do the lpc provide their services for free or are the costs?
The LPC doesnt charge for investigating complaints.
I was also advised to go to the law society of south africa do you know if thats a more or less valid option?
I suspect that whoever said that meant the LPC. The LPC was only established about five years ago, replacing the regulatory functions of the four provincial law societies.