Having acted as a panel member as arbitrator and mediator for both NYSE and PSE, a private mediator, and as an expert witness on cases large and small, John S. Preston has the experience and tools to settle any attorney fee dispute in Oakland and Alameda County, California.  He has an intimate knowledge of the workings of California law and law firms, and can utilize that knowledge to help determine the reasonableness and necessity of all attorney fees in a wide variety of situations.

John Preston has helped settle fee disputes at every level: As an expert witness he has helped guide the courts in disputes valued at over $3 million, as a private mediator he has helped determine reasonable fees for private and commercial property owners, as well as cases involving excessive billing, unjustified costs and general malpractice issues.

Real estate law often brings contention and conflict and in this acrimonious atmosphere, the conflict often spills into the private relationship between client and lawyer, especially when the outcome is not what the client expected.  Attorney fee disputes are best handled in private mediation where both sides can present their view and a mediator with experience on both sides of the issue can help determine what fees are reasonable under the circumstances and what relief has been established by precedent for the injured party, if any.  John Preston has that experience and has been called upon to serve in this capacity repeatedly by the courts, his fellow lawyers, and individuals.

Reasonable arbitration can settle these disputes before they become an expensive litigation process and John Preston has served Oakland and Alameda County, California for decades in this role.  No one knows both sides of these disputes better, and no one works harder to bring them to a mutually satisfactory conclusion.

Recently, John Preston handled a case which involved a dispute in excess of $300,000 with complex fact pattern.  The issues involved included reasonableness of fees, appropriate personnel assigned to the tasks, vague billing entries, various aspects of the retainer agreement, and costs allocation.  He was asked to comment and opine on a legal auditor’s work and was successful in finding many flaws in that work.  John correlated the invoices to the actual pleadings and correspondence n the file which was at least two beacon’s boxes thick.  This level of detail allowed him to be far better prepared than other witnesses.