I hire a attorney and I was told he could file a lien on my case?

Question

I was involde in a car wreck and hire this attorney but it seem like he is not doing anything to help me out, or go to the right doctors for my problems I been having, I sign a paper with him to be my attorney and I was told that he can filing a lien on my case so he would still get paid from my case, is this true.

Answer 1

yes. the attorney is working on your case on a contingency basis (will not get paid unless you do). he agrees to front all the costs and waive all fees should your case be unsuccessful.
You are free to fire this attorney at any time. you may choose to fire the attorney years into the case. the attorney will have several clauses in the contract indicating that should you do so, the attorney has the right to charge you reasonable fees or x amount per hour. The law also provides that the attorney may collect for the work under a what is called quantum meruit or unjust enrichment or some similar theory for a reasonable amount of money for the services provided, regardless of the written contract.
generally the laws of all states provide that an attorney can file a lien on the proceeds of the settlement or judgment once a case has been filed so that the attorney can collect this amount.
This law, though it may sound unfair to you, protects the attorney should s/he do all the work on the case, and then should you fire the attorney and attempt to collect on the case yourself or give a percentage to another attorney.
Each state's bar regulates attorneys and should the fees the attorney charges be exorbitant, your may file a fee dispute with the bar and limit the attorney to 'reasonable' fees.
Should you hire a new attorney, the new attorney can force the old one to substantiate the fees and costs s/he charges. you.

Answer 2

You have the right to fire an attorney because they work for you. Depending what your agreement says, you can still fire them at anytime.

But the bad news is, if he has done a lot of work for you, you still owe him the money. And he can put a lien on your house for it if you refuse to pay.

The other option would be to file a complaint with your State Bar Association. You could explain your case in a letter and see if they can't get a refund for you, or stop him from filing a lien.

You would have to believe the lawyer is not acting in your best interests and violating some form of ethics. I believe the State Bar Assn. may have a Code of Ethics on their website. To search it on the web, just type in your state's name and the words "bar association" after it. Then you can go down the list and see if anything is being violated.

I did this in another state-the lawyer was a real slacker and was over charging me for visits in the form of minutes and other forms of communication. But I kept a calendar with all visits, phone calls, and communication in minutes. I wrote a letter to the state's bar assn. and told them I wanted my money back. They gave it to me. No lawyer wants a complaint listed publicly (they're published), and they are disciplined by the Bar Assn.

So good luck to you and I hope that you get the results that you want.