The Law Firm of Fox and Fox v. Arteaga CA2/5

FACTS

I. Miguel Arteaga

A. The Retainer Agreement On September 29, 2021, Miguel met with Fox and retained the firm to represent him in his divorce proceedings as well Zamara’s related request for a restraining order against him. The firm represented Miguel until June 14, 2022. Miguel only had “a few” questions before signing the retainer agreement and all his questions were answered to his

Miguel Arteaga was married to Zamara Arteaga. Because they share the same surname we will refer to them by their first names.

Frank Fox (Fox) represented the firm at trial. Miguel was represented by Bruce Guttman (Guttman). For clarity, we occasionally make direct reference to each attorney.

2 satisfaction. Miguel agreed to Fox’s billing rate of $500 per hour, an initial retainer of $7,500, and a client deposit of $750 for costs. Miguel initialed each page of the agreement and did not ask Fox to clarify any of its provisions. Nor was there any occasion after he signed the agreement that he asked any question about the agreement or complained about any of its terms. The agreement contained a provision that allowed the client to “request a change in the terms of th[e]…