legal adive?

Question

can i get another lawyer if have one already and he is in middle of my case?

the reason i want a different lawyer is because the one i have is never available .. he tells me one thing than he me another thing. everytime i call him his out of the office i can never get straight answers from him.

Answer 1

The lawyer will be allowed to substitute in as the new lawyer with the consent of the court. If there is a good cause.

Your new lawyer should file a motion to substitute, signed by you and agreed to by the old attorney, and you will have to appear at a hearing. The court will usually grant the motion, unless you are set for trial tomorrow and this is just an effort to delay the trial.

Answer 2

I'm not in the legal profession, that being said - don't know why you would want to switch lawyers in the middle of a case unless he was grossly inept and/or negligent.

My understanding is that you can fire your lawyer but
1) Your present lawyer most likely will charge you a fee for the work already done.
2) Your new lawyer will have to have reasonable time to prepare, especially if you have a court date coming up soon. 3) Some things your lawyer will have to be aware of besides all the nuances of your case are ... any motions or petitions made on your behalf, any of the same made by opposing counsel, any rulings made by the judge and perhaps a slew of other legal subtleties I can't think of depending what your legal trouble is.
Be sure this is what you want, but you should have the right to obtain the best counsel for your defense money can buy.

Answer 3

While you are certainly allowed to get another lawyer, the question is why. Do you think that lawyer number 1 is not doing a good job? Do you just want someone to agree with lawyer number 1? Have you done some legal research on the internet and now feel the case should be handled differently?

The decision you have to make is who do you want to represent you. There are several other issues: Since you already have employed one attorney who has done work for you, you will need to pay that attorney for his/her work, especially if you take the case from #1 to #2. If you want to keep attorney #2 as a spare or just as a second opinion, you will need to pay that person also. If attorney #1 finds out that you have hired #2 to check his/her work he/she may be so mad at you that he/she withdraws from your case -- it is insulting. Once attorney #2 figures out that you are just second guessing #1, he/she may not want to represent you for fear that you will pull the same thing on him/her.

As attorneys we routinely get questions "my attorney says this, is it true?" the only answer is to go to your attorney and ask him/her that question. Many attorneys feel that clients who like to second-guess their attorney are detrimental to the case, and will not represent them.

If you are having problems with your attorney, tell him/her. Work out your differences. If you cannot, then see if you can get another lawyer to represent you.

Answer 4

Yes, you are always allowed to fire your lawyer. It's not typically advisable, since this lawyer already knows so much about your case. If you hire a new one, you have to pay them all the time it takes to learn everything your old lawyer already knows.

If he really sucks though, yes, you are always entitled to whatever counsel you want.

Answer 5

Yes, you can change lawyers at any time. If you can find someone else who will take your case. You will still owe the first lawyer for the work done.

Answer 6

yes. If you feel like your attorney is not doing a good job or is not responsive to your phone calls...you can fire him...I'd make sure you had another attorney first. Attorneys don't like getting in the middle of a case and will want to know why you are firing your other attorney...it might be more difficult to find an attorney after you fire your first attorney.