Every criminal defense attorney I have ever met charges a flat fee, which is nonrefundable, for his services. They do not charge a retainer, bill against it, and expect the pot to be replenished. The reason is that so often the defendant goes to prison and has no way to pay his legal bill. Another reason is that most criminal defendants are not rich enough to pay a private attorney for representation. If they do, their extended families usually come up with the money -- the full amount. It's sad, really, because their families are so often spending their last dimes on a crook. They refinance their homes, plunder their retirement accounts, borrow from every Tom, Dick and Harry ... basically impoverish themselves because they believe the defendant's claims of innocence, which are frequently bogus.
I'm sorry I'm getting on my soapbox here, but I am just so tired of criminals who don't give a carp about what their actions do their immediate and extended families and of lawyers who overcharge clients, who hire the pricey lawyers because they are so frightened that if they don't get the very best lawyer, they will be convicted. These clients, who are part of the general public, have no idea how to find a great attorney, other than by choosing the one who gets the most favorable publicity or who runs the most ads on t.v.
I didn't expect this. I thought TH would hire the guy for some large-ish amount of money to defend her until she is arrested (if she is). Maybe in the neighborhood of $25K -- since he didn't have to do much work pre-arrest.
I wonder what this gigantic legal fee covers. If this is true, I think she is guilty as sin. No normal, thinking, halfway intelligent person would pay that much money if they didn't know they would become a criminal defendant and be charged with a Very Serious Crime and most likely would be put away for a Very Long Time.
Unless they are rich ... I can see a rich person paying a ton of money. I mean, what's a few hundred thousand, among the multi-millions?
