What to Do When Someone Steals Your Ideas
Yes. You can replace your lawyer if you have lost faith or confidence in your lawyer to represent you, you have the right to change counsel. Ideally, it would be good to speak with your lawyer about what is making you unhappy or uncomfortable and give that lawyer the chance to fix the problem.
Write a letter terminating the representation.
If you decide to fire your lawyer, the best way to do it is in writing either via email, mail, or text. Your termination notice should let the lawyer know the reason for the decision and should also give instruction as to where to send a copy of your file.
Avoid these 7 ways to waste time and money in litigation.Suing the wrong person or company. ... Responding unnecessarily to court rulings. ... Responding to every motion. ... Responding to extremely low offers of settlement. ... Moving for sanctions, especially for perjury. ... Filing a complaint without facts. ... Reacting to annoying lawyer stuff.
If your attorney is not experienced or efficient, they may have missed a deadline or made another mistake and aren't willing to confess their error. There could also be some bad news that is entirely outside of the attorney's control.
So if you're curious, use these five quick ways to research whether your lawyer is legit:State Bar Profile. Every lawyer who is licensed to practice law in your home state must be listed in your state bar association's directory. ... Google / Search Engines. ... Yelp. ... The Attorney's Own Website. ... Third-Party Rating Groups.
In a nutshell, an abuse of court process is “the improper use of the judicial process by a party in litigation, aimed on targeting on interference with due administration of justice”.
A frivolous claim, often called a bad faith claim, refers to a lawsuit, motion or appeal that is intended to harass, delay or embarrass the opposition. A claim is frivolous when the claim lacks any arguable basis either in law or in fact Neitze v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989).
There is no set formula for how often you will hear from your attorney. However, the key to a successful attorney client relationship is communication. Whenever there is an important occurrence in your case you will be contacted or notified.
Perhaps the most common kinds of complaints against lawyers involve delay or neglect. This doesn't mean that occasionally you've had to wait for a phone call to be returned. It means there has been a pattern of the lawyer's failing to respond or to take action over a period of months.
Five things not to say to a lawyer (if you want them to take you..."The Judge is biased against me" Is it possible that the Judge is "biased" against you? ... "Everyone is out to get me" ... "It's the principle that counts" ... "I don't have the money to pay you" ... Waiting until after the fact.
Their goal is to drag the case on and pay out as little as possible. This earns more money for the attorney, who gets paid by the hour, and also can help frustrate the plaintiff into making a better settlement for them out of desperation.
I highly recommend that you interview however many lawyers you need to interview until you find a firm that you are comfortable with. If your case is as complex as you make it sound, you're going to have a lot of contact with the law firm you select.
Throughout the process of getting your financial settlement after becoming injured, there may be periods of time that you do not hear from your attorney. Although this can be unnerving, it is a normal part of the legal process.
Ask your lawyer for a copy of every document he files with the court. Doing so allows you to stay up-to-date and monitor your lawyer's diligence.
Whether to settle is your choice, not your lawyer's. Note how long it takes your lawyer to respond to you. About a week is standard for a very busy office, though a couple of days is preferred. If your attorney never responds to your communications, then he is not acting diligently on your behalf.
Lawyers are people, too. Sometimes a billing error may be a simple mistake, or a phone call might not get returned because your lawyer has suffered a health problem. However, a pattern of mistakes signals negligence.
If the judge reprimands your lawyer for forgetting to file something or for filing something late, then you know that your lawyer has not been acting diligently on your behalf.
All billing statements you receive from your lawyer should include an itemized list of the various tasks performed and the amount of time spent on each task. It should also identify who performed the task and what her billing rate is.
If a motion is date-stamped as filed on Monday, but the bill claims it was filed on Wednesday, then your lawyer may not be keeping accurate billing records.
If your lawyer acts unethically, you may wish to report him or her to your state's disciplinary commission. Unethical behavior is also grounds for firing an attorney. One of the most important ethics requirements is to maintain your confidentiality; your attorney may not share your communications with third parties.
If your attorney is not communicating with you. Communication is key to a successful outcome of any legal case. With this in mind, attorneys are responsible to keep their clients informed of all important activity in their case. That means informing the client of upcoming court dates and any settlement offers.
You disapprove how the attorney is handling your case. If you want to go to trial, and your attorney wants to settle, your immediate thought may be to fire your attorney. Remember that attorneys are looking out for your best interest. If your attorney is encouraging you to settle, there is a good chance the facts and the law are not on your side.
Sandra M. McCarthy, founder of A People’s Choice, has worked exclusively in the legal field since 1976. She served as the 2004-2005 President of CALDA (California Association of Legal Document Assistants). She obtained a Paralegal Certificate from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
If you have a meeting with your lawyer, there’s a good chance you took time off from work, secured childcare, or had other obligations that you changed or gave up in order to be at the meeting. Your lawyer shouldn’t waste your time, be unprepared, or mishandle your funds or documents.
For example, if your lawyer knows when your accident happened and when the statute of limitations runs out, yet still fails to file a claim in the allotted time period, you might no longer be able to file the claim or have legal recourse.
Reason #1: Your lawyer isn’t returning your calls. Lack of communication is a big problem for some law firm clients. Yes, legal practices are very busy. They have lots of clients — not just you. However, before a lawyer signs on to take your case, they need to know if the firm has the capacity to handle it. There’s no excuse for not returning phone ...
Hire a new lawyer first, and then fire the old one. Write a termination letter. Any time you modify or terminate a contract, it must be in writing.
Your lawyer has a responsibility to act in an ethical manner. Beyond that responsibility, they’ve actually taken an oath to uphold certain ethics.
Before you hire an attorney, you’ll sign a contract that sets forth the lawyer’s fees. Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency basis, which means they get paid a percentage of the damages you receive. However, they’re also going to charge you for additional expenses that come up while the case is in process.
Your lawyer likely knows the legal system in the community where you live, and they might have valid reasons why they think one approach is better than another, but ultimately it’s still up to you to make a decision — it’s your life, after all.
If you fire your lawyer just before a hearing or trial, you’ll most likely need to file a “motion for continuance.” A motion for continuance asks the judge to change the date of the court hearing or trial to a later date so you have time to hire a new attorney. The judge doesn’t have to grant your motion. If the judge denies your motion, you’ll need to represent yourself in the hearing or trial.
Always terminate the relationship in writing. Even if you fire your attorney in a verbal exchange, you should follow up by sending a written termination letter. Be sure to send the letter by “certified mail with return receipt requested” so there’s proof your lawyer received the letter. Taking these steps will ensure there’s no confusion about the status of the relationship.
Often, a polite conversation with your lawyer can clear up any issues between the two of you. Remember, your lawyer has an incentive to keep you (a paying customer) happy. In some cases, simply making your attorney aware that there’s an issue is all it takes to resolve the problem.
This doesn’t mean your lawyer can guarantee that they’ll win your case, but it does mean your lawyer should have the competence to represent you effectively and professionally. Failure to follow client instructions.
Lack of communication. Your lawyer must be willing and able to communicate effectively with you. If you ask for an explanation, your lawyer should provide it within a reasonable time. If your lawyer is ignoring you, it may be time to hire a different lawyer. Unreasonable fees.
In some cases, there’s nothing your lawyer can do to speed up the process. However, lack of diligence and unnecessary delays in your case may be cause for attorney termination. Lack of communication.
As the legal expert, your lawyer typically makes decisions related to strategy, tactics, and procedure. However, when it comes to decisions that materially affect your interests (such as whether to accept a settlement offer), the decision is ultimately yours and your lawyer should abide by your decision.
The first one of these may seem like common sense. You would not want to hire a brand-new attorney out of law school who’s never had a divorce case to litigate your highly complex divorce. Right?
The next red flag is when the attorney is consistently failing to meet basic deadlines in the case. In most states, when a petition for divorce is filed, there are automatic timetables for certain things to be done.
The next instance when you should be wary is if it’s impossible for you to get in contact with your attorney’s office. This is one of the most common complaints that divorce clients have about their attorneys.
Trust and communication between you and your attorney are vital to the success of your case.
The attorney you hire must do everything reasonably feasible to advocate for you and your case. Many attorneys don’t always handle every single part of a client’s case. They will use the support of a paralegal or assistant to prepare letters and legal documents or oversee a junior associate’s work on the case.
Does your attorney know who you are? Are you constantly having to remind them or explain who you are and what happened to you every time you call or meet your attorney?
Have you been asked to do something by your attorney that makes you uncomfortable or could possibly be seen as illegal? An example of this could be your attorney exaggerating the extent of your injuries or asking you to lie about the severity of the injuries you received.
Review your contract: Find out if there is a termination clause, and if so, what stipulations are listed and follow the terms of the agreement. In the state of Utah, you hired the attorney so you can fire them at will.
If you still aren't satisfied after bringing up your concerns, you can fire the attorney.
If your agreement doesn't outline a process for terminating the relationship, send a certified or registered letter to the attorney's place of business, stating that you are terminating the professional relationship and that he or she should immediately cease working on any and all matters related to your case.
If you don't think your attorney is handling your case with competence, it's important to find someone with whom you feel more comfortable. Firing your attorney might be the best way forward if any of the following circumstances apply to your situation: Your attorney has been dishonest with you.
If you have reason to believe your attorney has stolen from you or been otherwise grossly incompetent, you need to fire your attorney.
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In order to sue for malpractice, you have to be able to prove that 1. Your attorney made a mistake, and 2. If your attorney hadn't made the mistake, you would have won your case. Even if it's clear that your attorney messed up, you won't have a case unless you can show that it directly affected the outcome of your case and resulted in your losing money.
If your attorney has been uncommunicative, or hasn't been spending an adequate amount of time on your case, this gives him or her the chance to rise to the occasion. In an ideal situation you wouldn't have had to pressure your attorney to improve, but this outcome is still ultimately less disruptive than having to fire your attorney.
The quickest way to do this is to simply call them (or their assistant) and tell them over the phone that they are fired. Be firm and expect resistance or the run around, especially if you hired a large TV firm.
If this happens, the original attorney, who you just fired, may now feel tremendously relieved that you fired them and will refuse you back. This is a crummy situation to be in. If your case is strong, however, it may not be all that difficult to find a a good replacement attorney.
A typical agreement will allow that attorney to keep 30% of the obtained offer as their fee, even after you fire them. They will also typically have a claim for the reasonable value of time they put into your case. For example, if the attorney can claim that they put 20 hours into your case, and they charge $300 per hour, ...
Firing your attorney is something that a client should carefully consider before jumping into it. At times, firing your attorney, even if they’re not doing their job, can be a big detriment to your case and could outweigh the benefits to be gained. As an example, if your attorney in a personal injury case has started negotiations on your case ...
In those cases, it will be difficult to find an attorney who will want to take their case with a lien attached to it. The reason for this is that the second attorney will basically be working for the first one to get that lien paid before the later attorney can get a fee on the case.
This might be due to the lawyer being new to the practice, venturing outside his or her primary area of expertise , or just not being as sharp as you'd like.
If you feel that your lawyer simply doesn’t understand your goals and aspirations, you are not obligated to continue to the relationship . If, upon reflection, you think you have a valid beef with your attorney, first talk to him or her about the problem.
Will changing lawyers be detrimental to my case or legal issue? Changing a lawyer in the middle of an active litigation is like changing pilots in the middle of a flight. It will take time for the new attorney to get familiar with the file, particularly if the case is complex. In addition to potential delays, this process might also cost you money, since your new attorney will bill you for the time spent performing that review and getting up to speed. Also consider the immediate state of your case. Is there an upcoming appearance, hearing, or motion deadline? If so, your new attorney might not have time to adequately prepare.
Lawyers depend on their legal fees to earn a living, so most attorneys are motivated to do a good job and make their clients happy.
The attorney is unprofessional. For example, the attorney wastes time in meetings, does not appear to be prepared for court, seems very disorganized, or in the worst-case scenario, seems to be mishandling your funds or documents. The attorney does not communicate with you.
If any fees were paid in advance and the work hasn't been done, ask for a refund of the fees. Also, ask for an itemized bill listing all pending fees and expenses. If yours is a contingency case, your new attorney will pay your old attorney from any money that you ultimately recover.
If you are a party to litigation, confirm that your new lawyer will notify the court as to your change in representation. When you meet with new lawyers, don’t bad-mouth your old one. Remember, the legal community can be small, and you may be speaking about someone’s close friend or former colleague.