Should I pay the lawyer if the deal is cancelled?

Yes. He/she should be paid for the work actually performed.

My lawyer asked for 50% of his fees after the deal fell through, even before the contract was signed. This despite me having done most of the thinking and work myself in bringing up issues during the due diligence. Regardless, I paid him--didn't want to deny a professional his fees.

If that was your original deal with the lawyer (as is typical), YES. But some lawyers will defer payment until you complete the next deal, assuming you stay actively in the market, and then *may* discount the work on the failed deal. (Repeat: *may*)

Yes. You have an obligation to pay unless you worked out a contingency before you began work with him/her-- which is unlikely. You can pick up the phone and ask if you can make an arrangement as per SMatt above. If you are not going to continue to look you might even ask if you can schedule payments or gain some other concessions, but you are obligated to pay.

My agreement with my attorney read that it was x dollars however if deal falls through then i pay the hourly rate for his time assuming it was less. So if we had met to do contract and it fell apart and he spent 3 hours, all i would have paid was for those 3 hours.

A big part of the attorney's service is to find reasons for you NOT to do the deal - in the contract, the Board minutes, the bylaws/house rules, etc. So it seems self-evident that her fee should not be contingent upon the deal closing (unless that's an explicit term of the engagement).

> A big part of the attorney's service is to find reasons for you NOT to do the deal - in the contract, the Board minutes, the bylaws/house rules, etc. So it seems self-evident that her fee should not be contingent upon the deal closing (unless that's an explicit term of the engagement).

great point. so then paying 50% doesn't give the right incentives either. this is unless that lawyer is used regularly by family members and the like, which implies a more long term relation (that's the best incentive imho).

when i had a deal fall through, my attorney only charged me for the hours he worked on my contract.

Doc cares for patient
patient dies
stiff doc.......no
stiff patient.....yes
Doc does work/Doc gets paid
out come is always in the hands of the almighty (RE/Health)

Totally agree with you falcogold!

if somebody gets paid for overlooking something, chances are he's gonna overlook it
if a doctor gets paid for doing more procedures... chances are that doctor is gonna use more procedures than usual.

it's all about aligning incentives with optimal outcomes

> than usual.

meant, than needed

Agree w falco. If someone hires a hooker, male or female and can't finish the deed, ya still gotta pay.

It all comes down to working with professionals.

That's why the broker gets zip! (just kidding)

Thanks all. It makes sense to pay the lawyer although the deal fell through. I think, if the lawyers knknow they won't be paid if the deal is cancelled, they do everything (hiding the facts) to make you deal.

Makes sense shah, over $3K, the lawyer will risk everything especially their reputation.

just a long list of lies, perpetrated by the man, trying to keep the brother down!

Shah!--THAT fully explains the actions of many BROKERS!

out attorney said just pay me next time and did not charge us anything when our first deal fell apart. which i thought was pretty cool.