As a rule of thumb, you should file the complaint within 30 days of the date of the final bill. To initiate the process, gallop down to the courthouse and pick up the complaint form, write out a coherent complaint, and return the papers to the clerk with the filing fee, ranging from fifteen to fifty dollars. The clerk will provide you with a summons to serve your lawyer. Nothing like litigation, the hearings are held within a few weeks of filing. These hearings are fairly informal, more likely in an office than a courtroom, with the emphasis on facts rather than points of law.
Clients generally represent themselves.
If he reduces the lawyer's bill, he issues the client a legally binding judgement. There are limits to the tax courts' powers. They will probably find for the client if there is flagrant overbilling. Some taxing officers also find for the client if an inexperienced lawyer charged for excessive research. But in cases where a competent lawyer gave it a vigorous try, and billed a rational number of hours, a taxing officer might not lower the bill no matter how disastrous the outcome.