We hired. Attorney to represent us. Almost a year has gone by. And he claimed we settled in November. But I just received a letter from the other car insurance company that they sent our attorney the settlement check back in October.
Can we still fire him for just holding our check. And not letting us know he settled with out notify us. Your attorney has an obligation to tell you about a settlement in a reasonable amount of time.
Keep in mind, however, that it often takes a while to receive and deposit a settlement check. Nevertheless, the Client Assistance Program will discuss your options with you. I paid a retainer and it says no refunds. How do I cancel out agreement and get part of all of the money back? An attorney-client agreement is a binding contract. However, there may be a way to get back your funds if the attorney behaved improperly. From Michigan Hello. Our lawyer terminated the zoom trial before it was over, after being reprimanded in court for interrupting the judge.
We missed the end of the proceedings, not to mention the lawyer made us look unprofessional to the court via their actions. This was for a civil case. We need to terminate. The lawyer filed one file to the court before the pre-trial, a letter of intent. We would like to know if asking for all of our money back is justifiable.
Hello, there. Unfortunately, the pandemic has added a lot of new dimensions to legal proceedings that we never dealt with before, not least of which is relying on technology like Zoom to have court proceedings.
However, your lawyer still has a duty to properly represent your interests. If you believe that your lawyer is not properly representing you, you are certainly always able to seek a new lawyer. As far as getting money back, your lawyer would be entitled to keep payment for services already provided, depending on your retainer agreement. I think it would be wise for you to review your contract retainer agreement and see if there are any provisions that would address this issue.
Hi John. The Tennessee statute of limitations deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit is 1 year from the date of the injury. A lawyer has a responsibility to meet filing deadlines, court dates, and keep a client informed about developments in the case. Find a new lawyer, explain the situation, and that lawyer can request a copy of your file from the previous law firm. If you need to look for a new lawyer, you can use the Enjuris law firm directory.
So a month goes by and the old one shows up for a different case i had to deal with even though i clearly stated on record i did not want him having anything to do with me or any future cases i may have and also had already been assigned a new public defender.
I would recommend talking to your attorney about how to file the motion, or talking with the court clerk. I understand people are busy, but at what point does that excuse not work anymore? You always have the right to fire your attorney and hire a new attorney.
It sounds like that might be the best option here. You can find a new attorney using our free online directory. If you think you may qualify for free legal help, you can contact the New York State Bar. From South If My lawyer is judge can he still represent me or is that a conflict of interest.
Certain judges, such as municipal court judges, may be able to represent clients. However, a judge would not be permitted to represent a party in a matter with related litigation over which they preside as judge. From California I live in the Bay Area. November of last year I retained an attorney for my social security disability claim. I would like to fire them without any claim to any settlement I may receive.
Is this possible? Whether or not you will owe your attorney money depends on the language of the attorney-client agreement that you signed. With that being said, in the vast majority of cases you cannot fire your attorney without compensating them for the legal services they provided even if you signed a contingent fee agreement.
From Washington I have received nothing but complications from my solicitor. She has also accepted offers without my consent. She had not informed me of any offers made from the other party to which i was not made aware till I had to appear in court. I am asking her to withdrawal from my case so I can represent myself as I am unhappy with her representation to which she keeps stating that the registrar and other parties solicitor are happy to negotiate further with her as my lawyer.
After numerous texts and emails to withdraw. I can not email the court or solicitors involved till she does this.
A lawyer is required to present the client with any offers or reasonable negotiations from other parties in a lawsuit. Also, check the terms of your retainer agreement or contract because it might have specific terms for terminating the relationship.
While our editors moderate all comments, Enjuris cannot guarantee the authenticity or accuracy of the information contained in the post. Arguing the Motion to Vacate As stated above, a defendant should file a motion to vacate the judgment immediately after learning about missing the original hearing.
The Hearing Each side will have an opportunity to argue for or against vacating the judgment. The defendant will present the position asserted in the motion to vacate the default judgment.
If the small claims judge grants the defendant's motion, then one of two things will happen. If all parties are present and agree, the small claims judge might hear the original case without rescheduling it. If, however, the plaintiff isn't present for the hearing, or if the parties don't agree to hear the case then and there, the judge will reschedule the trial, and the clerk will mail a notice of the new trial date to the parties.
Appealing the Result If the higher court judge agrees with the small claims court judge, then the plaintiff will win, thereby ending the case. Talk to a Lawyer Need a lawyer? Start here. Practice Area Please select Zip Code. How it Works Briefly tell us about your case Provide your contact information Choose attorneys to contact you. Lawsuits and Court. Filing a Lawsuit. Representing Yourself. Working With a Lawyer. How to Find a Lawyer. Cost of a Lawyer.
Everybody's Guide to Small Claims Court. If the lawyer is unresponsive and the matter involves a lawsuit, go to the courthouse and look at your case file, which contains all the papers that have actually been filed with the court.
If you've hired a new lawyer, ask her for help in getting your file. Also, ask your state bar association for assistance. If that doesn't work, as a last resort you may need to sue your lawyer in small claims court, asking the court for money to compensate you for what you've spent on redoing work in the file or trying to get the file.
If you're not satisfied with your lawyer's strategy decisions or with the arguments the lawyer has been making on your behalf, you may even want to go to the law library and do some reading to educate yourself about your legal problem. If you've got serious doubts about how your case is being handled, see a second attorney.
Second opinions are relatively inexpensive -- an hour or two of a lawyer's time spent talking to you plus any time spent reviewing papers. And they are often very valuable in helping you decide whether to stay with your current lawyer or change to someone better suited to the task.
The more you can tell and show the second lawyer about your case, the better advice you will get about whether your case is being handled correctly and what might be done differently. Keep in mind, though, that no two lawyers handle a case in exactly the same way, and that a second opinion is usually a cursory review, not a comprehensive analysis.
It's your absolute right to fire your lawyer at any time for any reason. Give it serious consideration if you're convinced the lawyer is doing a bad job or if your relationship with the lawyer has become intolerable.
But dumping a bad lawyer can be expensive. If you hire a new lawyer, you'll have to pay him or her to get up to speed on your case. If the first lawyer hasn't done much, this shouldn't cost a lot. But if you have a trial scheduled for three weeks from now, your new lawyer will have a monumental and time-consuming job.
If you lost money because of the way your lawyer handled your case, consider suing for malpractice. Know, however, that it is not an easy task. You must prove two things:. It's not enough to show that your lawyer made a mistake -- you must show that the mistake caused you financial loss that you would not have suffered if your lawyer had handled your case properly in the first place.
If you want to sue for legal malpractice, do it as quickly as possible. To win a malpractice case against an attorney, you must prove four basic things:. Causation may be your biggest hurdle. To win a malpractice case, you must prove both the malpractice action against your attorney and the underlying case that the lawyer mishandled.
Then, you will have to show that if you would have won the underlying case, you would have been able to collect from the defendant. For example, say you were hit by a car when you were walking across the street, and you hired a lawyer who didn't file the lawsuit on time. You sue for malpractice and can easily prove the driver's liability. To win the malpractice case against your lawyer, however, you'd also have to show that the driver had money or insurance.
If you can't show that the driver had assets which could have been used to pay the judgment, you won't win your malpractice case, even though the lawyer clearly blew it and the driver was clearly at fault. Your lawyer is responsible for whatever money you could have won had the case been properly handled. Your difficulty will be in proving not only that your lawyer mishandled the case, but that if handled correctly, you could have won and collected a judgment. Your lawyer may have given you an inflated estimate of the value of your case to encourage you to hire her.
Get your file from your lawyer and get a second opinion on your case. If another reputable lawyer believes you are being advised to settle for too little, consider changing lawyers.
Yes, but you would have to prove that the settlement your lawyer entered into was for less than your case was worth. There is nothing ethically wrong with opposing attorneys playing tennis, bridge, golf or enjoying other common social interactions.
If they talk about your case on the tennis court or anywhere else , however, and your lawyer lets slip something that you said in confidence, that would be a clear violation of your attorney's duty to you. Even though socializing with the opposing counsel isn't a violation of ethical rules, in the real world it can obviously make a big difference how you found out about it.
If your lawyer told you he occasionally played tennis with the opposing attorney when you first discussed your case, you clearly had a chance to hire another lawyer if it bothered you.
But what if you head to the tennis court for a game after being grilled by the opposing attorney at your deposition, only to run into your lawyer playing with the legal barracuda who just tried to eat you for lunch?
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