White-Collar Crime

In 'Dog Bites Man' News, Criminal Defendant Not Paying His Bills. But This Time It's A Mueller Case!

Pay your bills, Rick!

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Rick Gates (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Why is it always the criminal defendants with the highest net incomes always the ones stiffing attorneys? Personally, I’ve had to seize a private jumbo jet to get paid what was essentially pocket change for a defendant. It’s almost as though the characteristics that bring rich people in conflict with law enforcement might be the same kind of entitlement that makes them think they don’t have to pay their attorneys. Weird.

Anyway, this is playing out again, but this time we have the added excitement of watching a figure in the Mueller investigation squabble with his former attorneys. The star of the Paul Manafort trial, Rick Gates, does not own a jumbo jet but did play in D.C.’s lucrative lobbying circles and he publicly split with his attorneys months ago. Now they want their money.

As Law & Crime reports, lawyers from Doar Rieck Kaley & Mack are looking for their cash:

In the complaint, filed in Manhattan federal court, the law firm alleges that Gates never disputed the fees presented to him in the firm’s invoices, nor did he ever say he was unhappy with the services he received. Nevertheless, the firm says, of the $388,525.34 that they charged him, Gates has only paid a small fraction.

“To date, Gates has paid $20,000 to DRK&M,” the complaint says.

The firm is suing for the remaining $368,525.34, plus interests and court costs.

When Law & Crime reached Gates’s current attorney Thomas Green, he declined to comment and immediately checked his billing records.

The Captain Hindsights of the world might fault the firm for not securing a bigger retainer, but that’s unrealistic. The flurry of activity kicked off by an indictment is intense and it can’t be blown off for administrative details because someone’s life (or at least freedom) is actually in the balance. They were meeting with prosecutors around the clock while trying to prepare for a trial if everything went sideways and they were doing all of this under intense media scrutiny.

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Let’s not blame the lawyers here. Gates hired high-quality representation. He should be ready to pay for it.

Rick Gates’ Former Lawyers Are Now Suing Him for $368,000 in Unpaid Bills [Law & Crime]

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

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