Can my Ex contact my attorney at will?

Question

My Ex has contacted my attorney about trivial matters. My attorney bills me for these contacts. Is there a way to avoid these charges? For example, can I forbid my Ex from contacting my attorney except through her attorney. (That might stop the trivia, since she would have to pay attorney fees also.)

What other options does she have? Are there more reasonable and less expensive approaches for my Ex to use to voice her claims (which appear to me to be groundless or trivial)? Or are we doomed to continuing legal fees?

Answer 1

Tell your attorney that you will not pay him/her for services you have not authorised - he/she works for you, therefore you give him/her instructions, not your ex.

Answer 2

If your ex has an attorney, your attorney is generally forbidden from communicating with her under the rules of ethics unless her attorney consents.

But, the deeper question, that your attorney bills you for discussions with third parties that are over frequent due to the inappropriate conduct of the third party, is one you just have to live with. This is fact of life. You can express concern about the situation to your attorney, but you can't bar someone who has a reason to call your attorney from doing so and it would be irresponsible for your attorney to ignore people trying to contact him that might have something pertinent to your case to say. Generally speaking, the person calling has more to lose than you do, from excessive contacts with your attorney.