My brother was murdered, and his child was born 10 days before his body was found. the child is in states cussody. We paid a lawyer a year ago to get a dna on my dead brother, which the DA office has it, and the little girl. The foster family wants to adopt this little girl, and we want her, or just to see her and know wether or not she is our blood family. It shouldnt take a year to get a dna. We had to pay this lawyer $500- and he keeps telling us different stories like oh I have your brother's dna, when he didnt, then he said the district atty was gone for 8 wks on maternity leave, then he said we finally got the order, Just waiting...well its been 5 months since we were suppose to hear something, he said it would be 4-6 weeks..Can I get my money back, and hire another lawyer? also what if he has waited so long and the child has been adopted? We just want to know if my brother has a child...please help us..thank you all so much for reading all this, just wanted to give you all detai
2007-01-29 01:22:58 · 5 answers · asked by SweetP 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
If you are unhappy with the service you are receiving from this attorney, I would urge you to at least go and speak with another attorney and get his opinion on how proceedings run in your district. You can always fire an attorney and get another one. The new one will be able to advise you on potential litigation against this first attorney.
Also, there is a grievance process which allows people who feel their attorney has violated ethics standards. A complaint is filed and the attorney is brought before a "Grievance Board". It is here that the attorney may be disciplined by the Bar (from sanctions to disbarrment depending on the nature of the offense). The State Bar Association would have info on that.
2007-01-29 01:35:54 · answer #1 · answered by Rabbit 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can, but it will be tough to find a lawyer to take your case. However, it really sounds like this lawyer is doing something terribly wrong. You need to hire a new lawyer immediately because after a certain amount of time, you can no longer contest the adoption.
After you get the child taken care of, then try to get your money back out of the original lawyer. Perhaps you can take him to small claims court. Judges don't like lawyers that don't do their jobs. So, if you have enough evidence that this idiot is jerking you around, the judge may get you your money back and more.
Best wishes.
2007-01-29 09:25:42 · answer #2 · answered by FozzieBear 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sue him. But this time vet the lawyer a bit better.
get some recommendations first. Hold off on your emotions, and see if any of your friends have used lawyers. There are also local advocacy groups...
lawyers have been sued before, and some are in prison.
2007-01-29 09:31:16 · answer #3 · answered by mec 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can, but the legal community tends to stick together. I knew someone who was getting divorced from her husband of twenty years, who was a lawyer, and she got shafted because there was collusion between her lawyer and his, and this was in Chicago, not in some backwater where everybody knows everybody else. You'll just have to watch your lawyer carefully, and insist on knowing all aspects, from discovery on, and watch for anything that's fishy.
2007-01-29 09:36:29 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is a case for Child Welfare Advocacy, not a greasy, ambulance chasing lawyer. You can report him to the American Bar Association, but you will likely not get your money back.
2007-01-29 09:28:02 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋