Basically I hired a lawyer to sue a contractor that was working on my house. We agreed on a fixed fee of $6500 to take the contractor to trial. Before I gave him the money he was very friendly and returned all my phone calls and emails immediately. After I gave him the money, he stopped returning my phone calls and email. And after I asked him to contact me to discuss what is going on with my case, he send me an email telling me that he will only contact me when he feels is necessary. And If want him to contact me to let me know what is going on with my case, then I would need to pay him more or we can cancel the whole thing and he will give me the refund, if there is any money left. What can I do now?
2007-01-19 06:06:31 · 10 answers · asked by cool g 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
A responsible lawyer will call you with updates to the litigation. He may be able to charge you for having to schedule weekly call times to update you. If you are not happy, ask for a refund, report him to your state's bar association, and then get a new lawyer. BTW, if he is as boneheaded as you describe, once you ask for the refund and he doesn't give it to you, you can report that to the bar association as well and you will have a better chance getting your money back. Good luck!
2007-01-19 06:15:14 · answer #1 · answered by Wookie on Water 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Hi! I am no lawyer , but I know from personal experience that every lawyer takes an oath to do their best to represent a client. Also every lawyer has to answer to an ethics review board if they are reported for misrepresentation. So the way I see it is you have three choices. !. Man up and just take the crap he is shoveling out to you. That is what most people do. 2. Report him to the review board and see what they say. 3. Demand an itemized bill for the time that he has spent on your case, get your refund and hire someone who will act right. Regardless of what you decide to do; please remember one thing. He works for you and not the other way around. You paid him to handle your case, and unless he is worried about your finances (which I'm sure he isn't) he should not have a problem with keeping in touch with you and answering any questions that you might have.
2007-01-19 06:42:45 · answer #2 · answered by cass_342002 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Bottom line - the lawyer is right. let him do his job. if he had to stop and give an update to all of his clients every week, he wouldn't get any work done.
However -
If you really don't like being kept out the loop, ask for an accounting of hours he spent on your case, get a copy of all of the work he has done so far, and get a refund
then go see another lawyer - tell the new lawyer exactly what you expect up front - and good luck finding one that will take your case
2007-01-19 06:15:39 · answer #3 · answered by BigD 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
My wager is that significant jerks with huge egos are attracted to the occupation because they can use their organic skills of deception to make a tremendous type of money and inflate their already massive egos. I actually have met some respectable legal specialists who're in the occupation to help others so i do not opt for to assert they are all jerks because they don't seem to be.
2016-11-25 20:41:55 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If he is not offering the service that you paid for, you can tell him that you are going to report him to your state's bar association. They can help you with problem lawyers. If he doesn't respond, go ahead and contact the bar association for help.
2007-01-19 06:12:12 · answer #5 · answered by jonmm 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Fire him and get a new lawyer and sue him. I hope you kept the emails.
2007-01-19 06:32:16 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
All lawyers are jerks. They are all out to get your money and do nothing to help you. Sounds al lot like the Federal Government doesn't it. You are probably just SOL.
2007-01-19 06:21:47 · answer #7 · answered by Stormy 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I think we have the same lawyer
2007-01-19 06:23:17 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Deal with it or fire him. It's pretty common lawyer attitude.
2007-01-19 06:14:55 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
fire him
2007-01-21 02:05:32 · answer #10 · answered by Princess 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋