under what terms can i file to get my money back from incompetent attorney

If your complaint to the state attorney regulatory agency is unsuccessful, you may also consider suing the lawyer for malpractice in order to get the money back.

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What happens if I owe money to a previous lawyer?

If you fire a lawyer to whom you have paid a retainer, you are entitled to a refund of whatever money remains of the retainer after the lawyer is paid for his services up through the time you fired him. Once you fire him, he must prepare and give you a written accounting of the funds and a refund check. At the time you fire him, include a ...

How do I get my file back from a new lawyer?

 · If no work has been done, then you can get your retainer back. However, you need to look at the terms and conditions of the fee agreement with your attorney to see if there were some costs or initial up-front fees. The information provided in this answer does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not considered to be legal advice.

What if I disagree on the amount of my attorney's refund?

 · Re: How Do You Get Your Money Back in Case of Incompetent Legal Representation? I don't think you'll be able to initiate a chargeback, no. You need to file a complaint with your local Bar Association, then get a different attorney and sue the first one. Sponsored Links Similar Threads How to Get Legal Representation for a Friend

How to declare someone incompetent to handle their finances?

 · 4 attorney answers. Read your retainer agreement. Most bankruptcy retainers will be on a "flat fee," meaning that you are not paying the attorney's hourly rate, but a pre-agreed upon fee for all of the services in the retainer agreement. Some attorney's will put a "no refund" provision in the agreement.

What should you not say to a lawyer?

9 Taboo Sayings You Should Never Tell Your LawyerI forgot I had an appointment. ... I didn't bring the documents related to my case. ... I have already done some of the work for you. ... My case will be easy money for you. ... I have already spoken with 5 other lawyers. ... Other lawyers don't have my best interests at heart.More items...•

How do you write a letter to fire a lawyer?

Dear Mr. Lawyer, I have decided to terminate our current legal relationship immediately and have accepted legal counsel elsewhere. I am terminating this relationship because I have been calling your office for three months and have received no updates on my case status.

What is a retainer fee?

Understanding Retainer Fees A retainer fee is an advance payment that's made by a client to a professional, and it is considered a down payment on the future services rendered by that professional. Regardless of occupation, the retainer fee funds the initial expenses of the working relationship.

What is a letter of disengagement?

A disengagement letter, withdrawal letter or a termination letter is a letter confirming the termination of a matter. What is this? Report Ad. A lawyer or a law firm can send a disengagement letter to a client for several reasons such as: Non-payment of fees.

How do you terminate a mandate?

Your attorney's mandate may be terminated orally or in writing; that will depend on the specific firm's conditions. The moment you terminate the attorney's mandate, the attorney must hand your file to you.

Is a retainer refundable?

A retainer is by default non-refundable and is not returned. Instead, it gets applied to the total. Think of a security deposit for an apartment or a cleaning deposit for an event venue rental (separate from the actual fee for the event cost itself). These are fees that are separate from the total.

How long is a lawyer retainer good for?

A lawyer cannot claim the retainer fee until they have completed work and provided an invoice to the client. The retainer is still the possession of the client until used for legitimate expenses as detailed in the retainer agreement. The amount in the trust account will not expire.

What is legal retainer?

A retainer refers to two things: A written agreement (contract) between you and the lawyer that forms a solicitor-client relationship. This is a retainer agreement. Money you pay to a lawyer to secure their services. This money is a deposit on future legal fees and expenses the lawyer will incur on your behalf.

How do you fire a lawyer in an email?

How do I fire my lawyer? 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.

How do you write a letter of termination to a client?

Dear [Client], We regret to inform you that we will no longer be needing your services effective by [Date]. We've decided to terminate our partnership with [Name of client/company] due to [reasons]. Our time together has been valuable, but now it's best we grow independently.

How do you fire a lawyer in Ontario?

Follow these steps in terminating your relationship with your attorney:Include a short and formal statement informing the attorney that you would no longer be needing their services. ... Request that the attorney stop work on all pending matters.Request that your files be returned to you immediately.More items...•

How do you fire a lawyer in California?

Q: What do I do when I fire my lawyer?Fill out the Substitution of Attorney-Civil (Form MC-050 ). ... Have someone 18 or older, NOT you, mail the other parties a copy of the Substitution of Attorney-Civil. ... Have the server fill out and sign the second page of the Substitution of Attorney-Civil (Form MC-050 ).More items...

Christopher Daniel Leroi

If no work has been done, then you can get your retainer back. However, you need to look at the terms and conditions of the fee agreement with your attorney to see if there were some costs or initial up-front fees

Jennifer L. Ellis

You can fire the lawyer at any time. Your fee agreement will explain what the lawyer can and cannot keep. If he did work, he will be entitled to be paid for that work.

Mark W. Oakley

You are free to discharge your lawyer at any time, with the possible caveat that he/she would be entitled to be paid for the reasonable services performed for you prior to their discharge. In your case, however, it appears that the lawyer may have done nothing for four months.

How Do You Get Your Money Back in Case of Incompetent Legal Representation?

My question involves malpractice by a lawyer in the state of: IL I retained an attorney for my case over the phone. There is no signed contract or anything. he charged my credit card over the phone and showed up in court with me. However, he did not explain the options I had and rushed to make a deal with the PD to minimize his court appearances.

Re: How Do You Get Your Money Back in Case of Incompetent Legal Representation?

I don't think you'll be able to initiate a chargeback, no. You need to file a complaint with your local Bar Association, then get a different attorney and sue the first one.

What to do if an attorney is not representing you?

Remember, you hired this attorney to represent you. If he is not representing you properly, you are entitled to a refund. First, I would put my disappointment in writing and formally ask for a refund. If you do not receive a prompt answer, contact the attorney disciplinary board in your state. Attorneys have an obligation to timely respond to client inquires.

What is a retainer agreement for bankruptcy?

Read your retainer agreement. Most bankruptcy retainers will be on a "flat fee," meaning that you are not paying the attorney's hourly rate, but a pre-agreed upon fee for all of the services in the retainer agreement. Some attorney's will put a "no refund" provision in the agreement.

Do bankruptcy attorneys charge flat fees?

Read your retainer agreement. Most bankruptcy retainers will be on a "flat fee," meaning that you are not paying the attorney's hourly rate, but a pre-agreed upon fee for all of the services in the retainer agreement. Some attorney's will put a "no refund" provision in the agreement. This is used to deter client's from requesting a refund, however, in many states this is not allowed. Generally, the attorney must...

What to do if you lost money because of a lawyer?

If you lost money because of the way your lawyer handled your case, consider suing for malpractice. Know, however, that it is not an easy task. You must prove two things:

What to do if your lawyer doesn't respond?

If your lawyer does not respond, or subsequent meetings or conversations are not fruitful, consider suggesting mediation to work out your communication problems if you still want this lawyer to represent you. A bad deskside manner doesn't mean that the lawyer isn't an excellent lawyer, and it can be difficult to find a new one in the middle of a case.

What is the agency responsible for licensing and disciplining lawyers?

Every state has an agency responsible for licensing and disciplining lawyers. In most states, it's the bar association; in others, the state supreme court. The agency is most likely to take action if your lawyer has failed to pay you money that you won in a settlement or lawsuit, made some egregious error such as failing to show up in court, didn't do legal work you paid for, committed a crime, or has a drug or alcohol abuse problem.

What is the defense of a lawyer who is sued for malpractice?

A common defense raised by attorneys sued for malpractice is that the client waited too long to sue. And because this area of the law can be surprisingly complicated and confusing, there's often plenty of room for argument. Legal malpractice cases are expensive to pursue, so do some investigating before you dive in.

What to do if your lawyer is unresponsive?

If the lawyer is unresponsive and the matter involves a lawsuit, go to the courthouse and look at your case file, which contains all the papers that have actually been filed with the court. If you've hired a new lawyer, ask her for help in getting your file. Also, ask your state bar association for assistance.

What to do if you can't find out what has been done?

If you can't find out what has (and has not) been done, you need to get hold of your file. You can read it in your lawyer's office or ask your lawyer to send you copies of everything -- all correspondence and everything filed with the court or recorded with a government agency.

What happens if a lawyer doesn't return phone calls?

A lawyer who doesn't return phone calls or communicate with you for an extended period of time may be guilty of abandoning you -- a violation of attorneys' ethical obligations. But that's for a bar association to determine (if you register a complaint), and it won't do you much good in the short term.

How to get a case file from an attorney?

If you think that your attorney has not been working diligently on your case, you can always request your case file from your attorney. You can either go to the attorney's office and read the file there or request that the attorney make copies of everything and send them to you.

What to do if your lawyer is not responding to you?

If, after many attempts to communicate with your attorney are met with silence, write your lawyer a firm letter asking why they are not responding to you. You should not threaten legal malpractice claims in your letter.

How long does it take for an arbitration to become binding?

You should keep in mind that your nonbinding arbitration outcome could become binding if you do not challenge the result in court within 30 days.

What to do if you receive a bill that looks like the one above?

If you receive a bill that looks like the one above, you should demand an itemized accounting of all the time that your attorney spent on your case. Where exactly did those 50 hours go? For example, if your attorney claims that he wrote a letter to opposing counsel for 4 hours, and the letter turned out to be 2 paragraphs long, you may want to seriously question your attorney's time management.

What happens if everything fails?

If everything has failed and you still cannot get your attorney to respond to you in a timely fashion, you may have to fire your lawyer and find a new one.

What to do if your attorney is not doing a good job?

One of the best things that you can do if you feel that your attorney is not doing a good job is to get another law firm to look at your situation. These second opinions do not have to cost very much as it will probably only last an hour or two.

What is the best way to fight legal malpractice?

Consider Mediation . One common method that many people are turning to instead of legal malpractice claims is mediation. Mediation is something both you and your lawyer may benefit from, and could even lead to a better attorney-client relationship.

What does a court look for in an incompetent petition?

But before the petition is approved, the court will look at a variety of legally incompetent criteria, including the results of a psychological evaluation. The petition will vary from one state to the next but, generally speaking, you'll be asked questions about the person's incompetence.

What is considered legally incompetent?

Legally Incompetent Criteria. Typically, legally incompetent adults are at a point where their cognitive issues are putting them and their loved ones at risk. This could be the elderly spouse with dementia who keeps withdrawing money and losing it. It could also be a parent who makes sudden, highly unusual changes to a will.

What is the process of declaring someone incompetent?

Declaring someone incompetent is a legal process that starts with filing a petition with the courts. Advertisement.

How to get someone declared incompetent?

The request to have someone declared legally incompetent starts with a petition filed with your local court. If your petition goes through, you will become the person's legal guardian, putting you in charge of legal and major financial decisions. But before the petition is approved, the court will look at a variety of legally incompetent criteria, ...

What is legal incompetence?

Legal incompetence can be confused with legal incapacitation. With incompetence, a person is declared legally unable to handle certain affairs by the courts. Incapacitation is usually connected to a person's physical health, involving appointing a guardian to ensure that a person's property and daily needs are met.

What do you need to do to get a medical incompetence petition?

You may be required to provide information about any diagnosis and treatment relating to the person, including listing all related prescribed medications. You'll also need to describe, in detail, what you've observed that makes you believe the person qualifies as legally incompetent.

How long can you be a guardian?

Emergency – You can be appointed as guardian for a 72-hour period if there's a situation where immediate action must be taken to protect the person.

Why is my lawyer not returning my calls?

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 ...

What happens if you meet with a lawyer?

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.

Why is malpractice considered a legal malpractice?

Malpractice could be intentional or by accident. If your lawyer has done anything that has cost you the ability to win or settle your case, or that had a detrimental effect on your proceeding, it could be considered malpractice.

What happens if your lawyer knows when your accident happened?

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.

How to terminate a contract?

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.

What is the responsibility of a lawyer?

Your lawyer has a responsibility to act in an ethical manner. Beyond that responsibility, they’ve actually taken an oath to uphold certain ethics.

What happens if a case is a smaller case?

It’s possible that person doesn’t have a strong grasp of the particular area of law that’s relevant. The other thing that could happen is that as a case progresses, it could begin to involve areas of law outside your lawyer’s expertise.

How to declare someone mentally incompetent?

The steps in declaring an individual as mentally incompetent are as follows: 1. File a form to declare a person as incompetent before the Probate Court having jurisdiction over the area where the subject of the petition resides. This form shall include an application to be declared as a court-appointed guardian. 2.

What to do if a petition is an adult?

6. If the subject of the petition is an adult, the petitioner must contact the adult protective services which shall conduct an investigation. This is mandatory even if the petitioner does not seek to be appointed as a guardian.

What is the aid of a mental health lawyer?

In filing the petition, the aid of a mental health or guardianship lawyer is beneficial to the petitioner. The retained counsel shall assist the petitioner in the gathering of supporting documents or evidence to strengthen your petition. 3.