$350,000 retainer

[LadyL]

I think an anoynmous (to us) donor(s) fundraised to hire Houze.

I hope none of the money came from her parents and I really hope they didn't have to mortgage their home to the hilt for her.

 

[LadyL]

I called my best friend, who by the way, would stand by me if I was accused of a serious crime. She works for a criminal attorney who does take murder cases and I asked for her input. She stated that the attorney she works for would request a retainer for the investigative phase, which is where things appear to be in this case. She thought that $35,000 would be reasonable and that would not include private investigators or any other expenses. These would be added to the $35,000 and would be billed to the client. Her boss would not ask for a retainer fee of $350,000 if there were no charges and she thought it would not be ethical to do so. The contract would state that if any charges were filed, they would be addressed at that time. She also told me of a murder case where a person waived her rights to a jury trial and appeared before a judge instead. She was convicted, even though it was self defense. He told her boss that it could be construed as racially motivated so he convicted her because it was an election year and he did not want to lose votes. I find that very scary.

a family member of mine was a defendant in a high-profile (not murder or rape or anything disgusting) case with a judge who was on her way to the Supreme Court and a prosecutor with political leanings and who was friends with the other side but did not recuse himself

yep, that was a rude awakening for my idealist personality who previously thought the truth and Lady Justice would prevail

 

[Leila]

350k for an attorney....

If that is the cases, and not an exaggeration by Terri Horman (tryin' to be a big shot, or something, I dunno!) then I need to take my law school plans back off the shelf.

I don't know why, but after he filed for the R/O and divorce, I keep thinking that whatever cash she acquired after that date, is no longer his concern.. and vice versa.

I was thinking that she probably got a loan or gift from family/friends to pay for her lawyer. So either way, loan/gift wouldn't mean he would be entitled to it, I would think.. since she retained him after the crap hit the fan.

I've heard others say she may have sold her story rights, I guess that is possible, but I just don't see her as being that dumb... After all the things that have been said or written about her, I don't see why she would want the word GREEDY attached also.

I could be wrong of course! Wouldn't be the first time.. (but possibly the second)

$350,000 seems excessively high! I have a friend who's a criminal defense attorney and his retainer fee for a felony crime is $25,000 to $35,000. I don't believe he's had a murder case though - mostly drunk driving, drugs, burglary, assault - that type of thing. But, still, $350,000 sounds way too high.

 

[Leila]

Do Attorneys request a percentage down for their retainer fee or does one just sign the dotted line with promise to pay? Honestly I don't care if it was 350 grand or 50 grand I would want to know where the monies came from as well. IMO Kaine is getting some very smart advise.
Do her parents have money? Did they put up their house? I'm sure those questions will be asked at the hearing. What scares me is if there is no money trail and she indeed handed over a substantial amount of money..... I just don't even want to go there.

In most cases an attorney charges a retainer fee. That's a down payment of sorts to engage his or her services, and the client is advised that there will be additional charges. Most attorneys charge an hourly rate for court appearances, fees for filing documents, etc., and I would imagine that in a criminal case those fees mount up fast.