Didim Today

I received a question from Stuart, who had some troubles with the cooperative that provides maintenance and management services where he lives. In his email, Stuart updated me about his ongoing problem. Let’s take a look: “Hi, it’s me again… You very kindly advised me about what to do with problems I have been having with the cooperative which provides property management services at Gümüşlük Bodrum.

I thought I would bring you up to date. They have now cut off my water and are now talking about cutting off my sewerage even though I have paid all my own bills up to date. Their argument is that I am not a member of their coop. I have asked to join on several occasions, but they refuse to allow me to join as they say the previous owner has not paid his bills.

My solicitor said I should take them to court, but he says this would cost TL 7,000, though when I win he would refund me TL 1,000. However, if Turkish law is similar to UK law, I should receive back all my costs. He says ‘no,’ as barrister costs are kept. I would appreciate your comments on this as soon as possible as my father, who is 99 years old, has come out to visit me and is very worried that I will have to pay a massive bill or lose the house.

So I would appreciate your comments as to what way to proceed.” Dear Stuart, legal fees are an interesting matter. The legal fees depend on each attorney’s experience and operating expenses and the location of his or her practice. It does not necessarily mean that a more expensive lawyer is better or a lawyer offering lower fees less successful. All lawyers are supposed to be committed to giving the best service possible.

In the Western legal world, hourly rates are the most common arrangement. In an hourly rate system, the attorney gets paid an agreed-upon hourly rate for the hours spent on the matter. In Turkey, the most common legal fee system applied is a flat fee system. In this setup, the legal matter submitted to the lawyer is well defined, and the lawyer is usually able to calculate how much time will be spent on the matter.

If you are engaging a lawyer on a flat fee basis, you should figure out the content of the service to be provided. The most common problem in the flat fee system is the following question: “Is the appeal stage included in the legal fees or not?” This is an important question because at least one of the parties will lose the case and appeal the decision.

The flat fee might not include the appeals process, so this should be discussed with your lawyer so that you both can come to a mutual understanding. In some cases, the lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. This means the lawyer gets paid only a small amount at the beginning but receives a percentage of the amount in dispute after the legal action is concluded.

Turkish law limits the contingency fee a lawyer can receive. The lawyer’s fees are freely negotiated between the client and the lawyer, with bar associations and the Turkish Bar Association (TBB) setting the minimum. In other words, the minimum fee is set by the TBB. However, as the case may be, lawyers usually do not use this minimum fee level but offer prices based on their expertise, skills and other related factors.

In your case, the fee to be paid by the losing party is this fee set by the bar associations. In other words, the courts will only cover the minimum level of legal fees as set by the bar associations. The difference is not refunded. You should still be able to discuss using the minimum fee tariff.

Berk Cektir http://www.berkcektir.av.tr/ The information provided here is intended to give basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not just rely on the information in this corner. http://www.todayszaman.com/ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it