lien on seller's title

Oklahoma- To make a long story short, we found a house we really liked and were ready to close when called at last minute and told the seller had a lien on the title, "should be no big deal." A week and a half later we still have no word on a possibility of getting to close. Apparently the seller had a lien for the amount of 32,000 dollars put on his house by a lawyer that had represented HIM. I'm guessing this means he didn't pay his lawyer fees. We were told by our real estate agent that the lawyer would probably remove the lien since the seller apparently owes money elsewhere and will get no cash from the sale of this house. However, we have now been told that the lawyer responslible for the lien is "thinking about it" in reference to removing the lien. He said his partner who represented the seller in the past does NOT want to remove the lien. My question is, where does this leave us? Does this mean if the lawyer does not remove the lien, we are out of luck? Do we have any recourse? We did NOT get an attorney at the front end of this deal, but we are thinking of talking to one now. But I wanted to find out from you if we even have any options or rights at this stage of the game. Thanks in advance!

[HomeGuru]

Talk to the escrow company about your alternatives. Ask if there is a way for the Seller to post a bond to cover the lien amount allowing closing to occur.