Section 3.14 The Fee

• Library: Criminal Practice 2012 Supp

10. (§3.14) The Fee

In most cases, counsel will not be running off to the jail at 2:00 a.m. just because a client calls unless some preliminary fee arrangement or a retainer has been paid or unless it is an old client and counsel knows the fee can be worked out. Very few lawyers can say they have not experienced a call to the jail or police station in the wee hours of the morning to meet with and discuss the caller’s circumstances, only to find out the accused did not intend to pay and thought counsel would be ecstatic to see the accused’s plight and of what help counsel could be without charge.

For additional problems relating to telephone interviews, see James R. Devine, Minnesota’s Togstad...