Is there a practice or custom of demanding reduced legal fees for poor performance?
Background example: Our company was sued for alleged patent infringement. We provided a detailed explanation to our lawyers and plaintiff for why the patent in question was extremely narrow and the infringement allegations were baseless. The plaintiff persisted, and our lawyers constantly tried to persuade us to settle with the plaintiff (under terms that were not favorable to us). After a year of litigation the lawsuit ended with an in-person meeting with plaintiffs and one of our lawyers. We had other agents present who helped explain that if the plaintiffs were to lose in court they would lose their claimed patent rights, whereas if we were to lose we would lose an insignificant amount of our income. The lawsuit was concluded by a dismissal without prejudice.
We feel that our lawyer did not vigorously and competently represent our interests and claims, and also that as a result of their incompetence and inattention the dispute was far more protracted than necessary.
Is there a common basis for demanding a discount in the lawyer's bills for these complaints?