Two lawyers who appeared for Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob in a suit brought against him today denied they had charged him a fee of almost half a million ringgit.
Americk Sidhu and Manjeet Singh Dhillon also refuted Adnan's charge they were committing “political blackmail” and said they were only seeking what was due to them in professional fees for services rendered over three years.
They said that solicitor-client confidentiality prevented them from responding in detail to allegations made by Adnan in the press.
"We acted on instructions and achieved the best possible result for our client taking into account the circumstances.
"We have a legitimate claim for our fees for work done on a very complicated matter involving a novel question of law which affected the potential locus standi of government officers bringing defamation suits in their personal capacities or as elected representatives," they said.
They added that the notion they charged Adnan half-a-million ringgit in fees was incorrect.
"Our statement of claim clearly states that the fees we seek recovery of are in respect of the High Court proceedings and the appeal to the Court of Appeal and include disbursements and GST.
"This has involved legal work done over a period of three years by two senior counsel and solicitors on record," they said.
Payment not received claim
Americk (above) and Manjeet (below) said Adnan was not an ordinary person by any stretch of the imagination and ought to appreciate that professional fees have to be paid.
"We did not agree to take on this matter on a pro bono basis. There are far more worthy causes we are currently involved in on a pro bono basis," they said.
"We fail to understand how and in what way we could possibly be committing ‘political blackmail’ merely by legitimately seeking what is due to us," they added.
The duo was responding to Adnan's statement today that he had a contingency fees agreement with them for representing him in a defamation suit against Utusan Malaysia.
Adnan said despite this, the lawyers had billed him for more than RM200,000 in legal fees which he claims to have paid.
"The matter was supposed to go to appeal. But the case was settled outside of court," he added.
Following this, Adnan said the lawyers slapped him with another bill of more than RM200,000.
The lawyers had earlier filed a suit to recover RM214,000 for unpaid fees accumulated at the High Court and Court of Appeal claiming Adnan only paid fees for their appearance at the Federal Court.
They have also denied receiving RM210,000 in payment as claimed by Adnan. - Mkini
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