Question about dumping an attorney
 

My gf has an attorney on retainer. Strikes me that the attorney in question is next to useless. Is there any procedural difficulty in dumping her and retaining a new one?

- Peter.

Make sure you have another attorney in line first and that he/she knows that you are canning another. Compose a letter stating the reasons you are taking them off retainer. Be specific - don't exaggerate - be professional. You will want to cover in your letter Termination Date and Time and Fee and cost balances. Be specific on the date and time you want them to cease communications and/or representing you and whom will be taking over. If you are currently in a lawsuit your new attorney will make notification to the court for you.

No, its no big deal. Tell her to go to the office, pick up her file and find a new attorney. If there are any deadlines or court dates scheduled, she needs to find this out and possibly get continuances for time to procure new counsel.

I always have this saying If it's not documented it didn't happen.

Why don't you look at the retainer agreement and find out what it says. If it was a "slip and fall" and the atty was on a contingency, your g/f may have a big monetary obligation. But the bottom line is you have to see what your g/f agreed to.


I always figure that when all else fails, read the instructions.

Wise words.

and also,

"If I didn't sign it, I didn't say it!"

;)

Not in California (and I imagine most other jurisdictions). In California the new attorney agrees to split the fees with the old attorney.

Let's say the contigency fee is 40% of the recovery and the recovery is $100,000.00. the fee is $40,000.00. The new attorney and the old attorney split the $40,000.00. The g/f still gets her $60,000.00 minues expenses like depositions, expert witness fees, the cost of reports, etc.

The fee split between the two attorneys is made on the basis of how much work each attorney has put into the case. Usually the fee split is amicable (people dump their lawyers ALL the time for whatever reason). If the two attorneys cannot agree on a percentag split, then they go to arbitration. The g/f, however, gets her money regardless of what happens between the two fighting attorneys.

But your advice to read the fine print is VERY sound.

And as my fellow barrister has already pointed out: get the file! The old attorney cannot hold the file "hostage" for "ransom." The file ALWAYS belongs to the client.

I totally disagree with this percentage stuff.
Charge an hour rate and expenses like everyone else.

Same with realters....why should my success be your profit? This is only supossed to work with taxes....don't agree with that either.:rolleyes:


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Whether you agree or not, contingency fees are a fact of life.

If the attorney wins the case, he gets a percentage (usually fixed at certain levels, depending on when the case is finally settled). Everyone wins. :D

If the case is lost, the client owes nothing, except for costs.

These cases involve some financial risk for the attorneys, hence the percentage fee.

In ordinary criminal cases (like run of the mill DUIs) the attorney usually sets a flat fee, which covers all appearances (it may also include trial).

The fee is collected upfront (for obvious reasons).

I understand the principle...disagree with the application.

Suppose I service your vehicle and charge is based on 40% of it's BB value?:cool:



.

I have a 76 SLC. BB value maybe $2000

I pay 50% of BB every time I have it serviced. You offering me a discount?

Like a lawyer... I choose my work.:)



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You know the deal..........if you can charge a 40% contingency fee and you can still retain customers.........then you do it.

The only way the system changes is if a majority of lawyers decide to work strictly by the hour. In fact, if they were to charge $200 per hour.........win, lose, or draw.........I'll bet that most attorneys would be fine with that.

But.........their clients certainly would not...........the client cannot accept the risk of a loss.

This is all very interesting but in my case, or rather my gf's I should say it's not about money. The problem is with her ex and his harrassment and general ****tyness towards her. Seems to me that she loses every issue that comes up for "arbitration". They've been going thru this for over five years now. So I was just wondering about getting her a better attorney.

- Peter.

Can you afford to front expenses of $75K for medical experts in a med-mal case and still pay $210/hour for 600 hours?:rolleyes: Didn't think so.