Paying the court-appointed lawyer

I just paid James M. Ritchey's final bill. What a bozo he turned out to be. Comm. Joseph had appointed him to be a lawyer for the kids, and ordered my ex-wife and me to pay him $2,000. For that, he never familiarized himself with the facts of the case, never even talked to the kids about the issues of the case, and did not even bother to show up for the court trial. He billed at a rate of $240 per hour for himself, and $90 per hour for his secretary Debra Hess.

All he really did for his money was to write a terse two-page in which he recommended that the court continue doing whatever it was doing. I guess that Comm. Joseph just appointed him to offer evidence for what the court had already done, but he really didn't come up with any evidence for anything.

Being a court-appointed lawyer must be easy work. He has no accountability to the client. He does not have to make any factual or legal determinations. He does not have to justify his pay. He just has to suck up to the judge, and watch the money roll in.

I guess it could be worse. The AP reports today:

LOS ANGELES — Actress Anne Heche and her estranged husband will each be allowed $240,000 from the sale of their home to pay legal fees in their divorce battle, a judge ruled Tuesday. ...

Heche, star of TV's "Men in Trees," is under a court order to pay attorney's fees for Laffoon.

The judge ordered money from the home's sale released to the couple's attorneys but reserved authority to determine how much should be paid out to them, said Melvin S. Goldsman, attorney for Laffoon.

Daniel J. Jaffe, an attorney for Heche, said he was pleased with the decision ...

Laffoon is seeking $22,000 a month in spousal support for himself and the couple's 5-year-old son, Homer.

Yes, of course the attorney is happy that the assets are being plundered for the sake of his outrageous fees.