Will a Bill of Review Be Granted When the Prevailing Party Was Professionally Incompetent
The Devil's Abet � | Our 22nd Year |
Frequently Asked Questions: FAQ
- How can I contact The Devil's Abet?
- How tin a federal agency rent Devil'southward Advocate?
- How does The Devil'due south Advocate accuse for its services?
- What is The Devil'south Abet & what does it do?
- Is The Devil's Advocate anti-lawyer in a legal fee dispute?
- Does Devil's Advocate have a listing of good or bad lawyers?
- If your name is "The Devil'south Advocate," does that hateful you work for the devil?
- Caveat emptor: All "legal bill audits" and "auditors" are not equal.
- The Existent Matter : Beware of people abusing our proper name.
How exercise I contact The Devil's Advocate?
The Devil'south Abet may be contacted as follows.
| Eastward-mail | Devil's Advocate : Information@DevilsAdvocate.com |
| PO Box viii, Great Falls, VA 22066 Contact usa for the relevant street address for the private you're trying to accomplish, e.g., for courier deliveries. | |
| Telephone | 703-684-6996 |
| Fax | 202-499-7011 |
Devil'due south Advocate, LLC, is also known every bit TLF Consulting. Please do not send confidential materials, bills, or other large documents without prior give-and-take.
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How tin can a federal agency hire Devil's Advocate?
Devil's Advocate is privately registered with the Central Contractor Registration online arrangement maintained by the GSA. Our information can be obtained through CCR search from any US government network computer. Our muzzle number is 641H4.
We as well work with state and local government agencies.
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How does The Devil's Advocate charge for its services?
We quote our fees based on a number of factors, depending on the state of affairs. Important factors include the size of the project, format of the materials to review, deadlines, scope of the review and problems, other documentation to review, billing guideline terms, location, and so on. We seek reasonable compensation in proportion to our effort and the value of our services.
The Devil's Advocate's offers a variety of fee alternatives. Although hourly fees may be the norm for many lawyers, some of our engagements lend themselves to flat rates, percent fees, retainers, or hybrids, depending on the circumstances. Devil's Advocate does not offer or charge contingent fees for consulting services.
The Devil'due south Advocate passes through some out of pocket or unusual expenses at toll, merely does not beak clients for many routine expenses charged by constabulary firms. The chief out of pocket expenses are usually travel expenses for testimony.
Nosotros discuss our fees up front end. Details regarding our representation, including our fees, are commonly reduced to a written agreement with each client.
The Devil'south Advocate does not charge for initial consultations, prior to engagement.
Do not disclose or forward u.s. whatever confidential information until nosotros have reached a written retentiveness agreement and our initial fee has been paid.
Until we take been formally retained (and paid), (ane) we take no conflict of interest in being retained by anyone else, and (two) no one may use our name or imply that we have been retained or have whatever detail opinion well-nigh your situation.
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What is The Devil'southward Advocate and what does it do?
- The Devil's Advocate is a consulting business firm, providing unique advice to manage legal services.
- Devil's Advocate is not a law house, even though we employ lawyers admitted in some jurisdictions.
- Devil'south Advocate does not provide legal representation. For traditional legal representation or communication, you should promptly consult with a competent, experienced lawyer licensed in a relevant jurisdiction. Promptly contact the bar organization in your state or locality for a referral.
- The Devil's Advocate is the trademark and tradename used by Devil's Abet, LLC, a Virginia (USA) limited liability company.
- Devil's Advocate, LLC, is also known as TLF Consulting for some services.
- While The Devil's Advocate cannot guarantee particular outcomes, nosotros do strive to deliver cost-constructive services.
- We pre-screen all engagements.
- All engagements are subject field to our standard retentivity understanding.
- Our proper name, The Devil's Advocate, is a federally registered trademark.
- Potential clients and actual clients may not make utilise of our name or work product without prior permission and payment of our fees.
- Our work is normally confidential and nosotros maintain the confidentiality of client data as allowed past police force.
- We do not, therefore, generally annunciate the names of our clients, especially if they accept non been required to be disclosed, due east.g., in a public legal proceeding.
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Is The Devil's Advocate "anti-lawyer"?
We don't prejudge lawyers or their bills. Some of our best friends, clients, and even some employees are lawyers. In examining legal fees, The Devil'due south Advocate e'er works to determine what a reasonable fee would be, using the available data, regardless of who hires us. Different other bill "auditors," we are independent and do not always piece of work for the same "side" in a fee dispute. Nosotros are sometimes hired to challenge a fee and sometimes to support the reasonable portion of a fee.
Some of our aspiring competitors are owned or controlled past insurance companies, for example, then yous know where they have to come up out to protect their jobs. (Information technology is probably for this reason that many of these companies' affiliations are subconscious from the full general public and most law firms.)
Before we will even take an date, we need to know plenty most the situation to satisfy ourselves that our services are likely to exist cost-effective. We turn down many more potential engagements than we have.
Even when we "support" a legal fee, we rarely find that 100% of the requested fee is reasonable by all standards. Just as few things are perfect, so it is with legal bills. But how much of a bill is unreasonable or improper for other reasons depends upon a thorough assay, using the information at our disposal.
We have been retained both by clients and by law firms, too as by insurance companies, government agencies, and others. In add-on to supporting fee claims, westeastward have been retained by law firms whose fees nosotros have examined in the past.
We strive to avoid having a bias or pre-judging whatever fee. Don't hire us unless you can handle the unvarnished truth.
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Does Devil'south Advocate accept a list of good or bad lawyers?
While we tin assist our clients to find and retain a lawyer who "fits" their situation in the correct jurisdiction, we practise non maintain a list of good or bad lawyers. Finding the correct lawyer depends on your circumstances. Lawyers move around, firms and lawyers change, and selecting the right lawyer begins, and does not terminate, with a list of potential candidates. Nor can nosotros guarantee any lawyer or firm, allow lonely the results they may achieve. We exercise not endorse or approve whatsoever lawyer or law firm -- anyone who implies otherwise is mistaken.
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If your name is "The Devil's Advocate," does that hateful you piece of work for the devil?
The short answer is no. We work for corporations, individuals, associations, governments and agencies, and unions, simply no devils.
Most people recognize the phrase "devil'south advocate" as referring to someone who asks tough questions, usually from different or unpopular perspectives, taking nothing for granted, and treating nothing as sacred. The term really comes from the Roman Catholic Church, which used to engage an official "devil's advocate" to challenge defects in the bear witness supporting canonization of a candidate for sainthood. Even potential saints take to be questioned. Hither's a short slice from NPR explaining the history.
We chose this proper noun as an apt clarification of our function -- lawyers are non saints, though many people, including unhappy clients, may care for their bills as sacred. We look for the hard evidence that supports, or negates, the reasonableness of a fee. We ask hard questions. In doing then, we do not expect to win any popularity competition, even though our reports and testimony regularly win the dispute. We have a certain pride in noting that many who don't like our conclusions choose to attack us personally -- advert hominem -- to distract attending from their inability to refute usa on the claim.
Annotation for the Reality-Challenged, Part I: Reflecting the inadequacy of some aspects of our educational system, we occasionally receive communications from people who assume that The Devil's Abet ways we work for the devil -- the aggressively ignorant even attempt to capitalize on the ignorance of others by fostering that misconception. Every bit ignorance by and large subsumes the absence of rudimentary logical skill, we have had little luck pointing out that, if there were a devil and nosotros were actually employed by him, we would hardly have to resort to such crude tools as hard work, written reports, and testimony to achieve our objectives when a uncomplicated lightening commodities or middling convulsion would practice. For those with neither intellect nor sense of humor, we can confirm without fear of contradiction that we do not now nor have we ever been employed, directly, indirectly, or supernaturally, by any citizen of the netherworld.
Notation for the Reality-Challenged, Part II: We are in no style associated with the movie known every bit "The Devil's Abet," starring Al Pacino and Keanu Reaves. Those visitors to our web-site who are looking for information almost the movie, seeking autographs, or who have a movie script or concept to peddle, will non notice comfort hither. We not only pre-engagement the pic, but we also own the federally-registered trademark for the name.
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Caveat Emptor: All "legal pecker audits" and "auditors" are not equal, or even real.
Beware of whatsoever firm claiming to perform "legal bill audits" or to take a computer program that can review legal bills: If it's too easy or inexpensive to exist truthful, steer clear. No software program tin locate the chief problems in nigh legal bills, because the biggest trouble unremarkably isn't what'south in the bill, but what has been left out. Another warning sign is that the firm claims proprietary methods or systems -- for an case of a ending caused by someone calling himself a legal bill accountant, follow this link. It is especially suspicious when an "accountant" claims an power to review bills without examining work production or background information. Accountants and other non-lawyers do not take relevant experience and cannot review the guts of a legal bill. Inexperienced lawyers cannot provide useful insight into a beak either.
To reduce their legal fee bills, some companies perform what they call a bill "audit" on most or all of their incoming legal bills, usually employing software or inexperienced personnel. These are typically cursory reviews applying arbitrary rules to the bills that may or may not exist real billing standards. (This is easier if the lawyer has agreed to bide by billing guidelines imposed past the client.) The objective of these tools is to reduce legal bills for financial reasons, often using arbitrary or simplistic standards, and they are therefore easily evaded once the lawyer figures out how this particular game is played. These are "nickel and dime" audits, which DA does not perform. Indeed, we are sometimes retained to rebut them.
Another problem arises when an incompetent, misleading, or defective legal bill "audit" is used to deflect criticism of bills or mislead the public into thinking the bills have been rigorously examined the style nosotros examine them. These cursory and archaic -- even simulated -- reviews are mutual, for example, in some bankruptcy courts, where debtors' counsel and bankruptcy courts utilise them to make piddling adjustments (often a few percent or less of the total bill) to camouflage much bigger issues. These fake reviewers are called "safety-stampers" because they are purporting to vouch for the bill, frequently sight unseen or with little serious review. We don't perform fake reviews or permit our reputation to be driveling in this style. Unfortunately some of our would-exist competitors are non to a higher place misrepresenting what nosotros do or stealing material from our books and articles, as well as this website, and passing information technology off as their own.
There are fifty-fifty clubs or associations used to invent fake or misleading credentials for those claiming expertise in legal nib exam, with lilliputian or no substantial experience or expertise. A new fad seems to be inventing certificates that self-appointed groups confer on themselves or gullible people with money to declare themselves to be legal pecker "auditors" or the like. (This is reminiscent of the faux "Super Duper Best" lawyer credentials that so many lawyers seem to crave these days.) With real world experience and credentials, DA does not participate in such schemes. DA is independent and follows the standards and methods required by law, as it has pioneered for decades now.
Since 1993, nosotros accept reviewed well over $1 billion in legal fees from all over the Usa and other parts of the globe (we do not keep or publish such statistics and the total is actually much more than, but it is apparently the fashion these days to quote such numbers to impress potential clients), we have testified many times, we have written the definitive articles and books on the subject, and nosotros handle the largest, most complex fee disputes. We have as well been hired by some of the same police force firms that nosotros have challenged in other reviews -- our methods and opinions are persuasive. Devil's Advocate has extensive experience and understands the legal profession and litigation. You'll find that our services are superior in both cost and quality.
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The Real Matter : Beware of people abusing our proper noun.
We sympathise that some lawyers, clients, and others have invoked our proper name to gain leverage in fee and other disputes with other lawyers (or proponents of legal fees). The idea is plainly to utilize DA as the "boogeyman" to induce settlement or abandonment of a claim. Offset off, DA does not return opinions until nosotros've been retained, paid, washed an analysis, and actually reached at least preliminary conclusions -- and we often support bills every bit long as they are reasonable.
Of even greater concern, information technology seems that these incidents are just outright scams perpetrated past people claiming to have consulted with or hired u.s.a. who have, in fact, non actually consulted with, retained or paid us. They desire to utilize our proper name without our noesis or permission, which not only steals from united states of america, but gives people funny ideas about our methods and conclusions, damaging our reputation. Our proper name, reputation, materials, and piece of work product are valuable and protected by constabulary, including federal trademark and copyright law.
If someone tells you they have hired us or that we have rendered opinions, they may not be telling you the truth. Nosotros'd be happy to hear all most it -- and vindicate our rights. We'll tell you lot if we accept a real disharmonize of involvement.
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Updated: 07 Jul 2014
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Established 1993
Our 22nd Year
DevilsAdvocate.com | Civilian's Guide to Lawyers (the Weblog) 
For more than information, contact our Marketing Managing director, Elizabeth McGee
The Devil'southward Advocate, PO Box viii, Great Falls, Virginia 22066 (USA)
Phone: (703) 684-6996 * Fax: (202) 499-7011 * Email: Devil's Advocate
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The Devil's Advocate � is a registered trademark, and Contained Counsel™, Civilian'due south Guide to Lawyers ™, the Client-Friendly Billing Agreement ™, and the Client Bill of Rights™ are trademarks of The Devil's Advocate or licensed to DA.
All materials in this web-site copyright January, 2015 by The Devil'due south Advocate (licensed to Devil's Advocate, LLC a/k/a TLF Consulting). All rights reserved.
We practice not provide legal advice by e-postal service or through this site. Nosotros do not provide legal representation. All DA engagements must be in writing.
The information in this website represents our opinions (or opinions of others) and is believed to be accurate, but we cannot guarantee that they apply to your state of affairs.
Visit Devil's Advocate for legal fee management and litigation consulting, including legal bill reviews, expert testimony, legal malpractice, and lawyer ethics problems
1000eywords: The Devil's Abet, John Toothman (founder), legal fee management, litigation consulting, trial lawyers, legal fee analysis, decision-making legal costs, legal cost control, lawyer cost management, legal expense direction, alternative legal fees, trial practice, ceremonious litigation, discovery, American Rule, client, lawyer, legal fees, attorney fees, hiring lawyers, attorneys, expert witness, expert testimony, lawyer pecker, legal fee invoices, litigation management, fee petitions, defalcation, legal bill audit, legal pecker review, fee shifting, prevailing political party, legal expenses, second opinions, monitoring counsel, legal fee budgets, legal fee estimates, legal malpractice, audit legal bills, general counsel, independent counsel, hourly rates, hourly fees.
Publications include: To Get Paid, Get Reasonable, Trial Do Checklists (West Group); Legal Fees: Law and Management (Carolina Academic Press), CGL, Civilian'due south Guide to Lawyers, Client Bill of Rights, Client-friendly billing agreement, hourly fees.
Headquarters in Corking Falls, Northern Virginia, The states, in the Metropolitan Washington DC (District of Columbia) area.
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