Lawyer charging more than we agreed

[Adelev]

Hello a lawyer that I hired to get a lien taken off me and my mother's land said he wanted 1000 dollars
And I agreed and paid him 700.00 and therefore I only owe 300
more. But I got a bill from him for 1500.
He never told me he was charging more than what we agreed, can he legally do that?

[adjusterjack]

he wanted 1000 dollars

For what? Did you get the fee agreement in writing? Generally, the first payment to a lawyer is a retainer subject to his hourly rate. If he spends more hours than the retainer covers you get billed for the additional amount.

He never told me he was charging more than what we agreed, can he legally do that?

Again, did you get a fee agreement in writing? If not, you'd be hard pressed to convince anybody that you didn't know that lawyers charge by the hour.

[Lexus]

He may have to render more service than what agreed upon to get the order, that may be the reason for additional charges.

File a state bar complaint if you feel the lawyer misled you.

That's why Bar's advise lawyers to put these things in writing, but in most states it is not required unless it is a contingency or other special agreement.

So it's like any other agreement you might make, you have to prove what the agreement was and the other side will have their version of events as well presumably.