Refund of non-refundable retainer fee??

In June of this year my brother got arrested for suspicion of being involved in a shooting.  My family and I were really stressed so decided to get a lawyer right away.  We met with a lawyer on a Thursday and asked him if he could represent my brother.  He initally asked for $25,000 but we told him we didn't have that kind of money that we could only give him $10,000 at the moment.  We signed a contract and it said retainer non-refundable.  However, my brother was scheduled for his arraignment the following Tuesday and it never took place because the D.A never presented any charges on him therefore he was released the following day.  Immediately after I called the lawyer to see about how to get our money back given the fact that he didn't do much since there wasn't a case.  He said to wait awhile just in case they try to come after my brother again.  The attorney had told my brother to wait about 6 months and if nothing happened they could talk about getting a refund.  It's been 6 months and we went back to talk to the lawyer.  He pointed out that we signed the contract and that is states non-refundable.  Is there anyway we could get our money back?  That's a significant amount that I feel doesn't equate to the amount of work he did.  Any feeback would be greatly appreciated. 

(we live in california, in case that helps)
Thanks.

Hi,

I am from California as well.   I suggest you should try taking this issue to the small claims court in the amount of $7500.00 (maximum amount allowed by law in small claims court).  

I suggest that you first take this to the state Bar and file a fee dispute.

First of all, don't be so quick to throw away 2500 if you don't have to.

Second of all, small claims court might very well enforce the contract that you willingly signed and you'd be out 10,000 where the state Bar might put pressure on the lawyer under it's ethical rules and get you all of the money back.

No guarantee of course, but all you lose is a little time.

Contact the CA state bar about the fee dispute. Most state bars have programs that help to resolve fee disputes, and CA is one of them. The link I provided will take you to the state bar web page that tells you about their fee dispute program.

In many states, a lawyer cannot keep a fee that is not earned, even if the contract says it is not refundable. Thus, in my state the lawyer could not keep the $10,000 if he did no work for it.

Thank you all for your advice.  I sent a letter to the attorney and waiting for a response.  Depending on how that goes I'll know what decision to take.  It's looking like the claim with the State Bar imight be next. 

You can contact the state bar to file a complaint.