Big Attorney Problem

[rusgal]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Ohio
Seeking help! Here's the problem. I hired an attorney in 2003, paid 700 bucks and was hoping to get my bankrupcy discharged in Jan.2004, however my attorney never proceeded with anything! She simply dissapeared. I went through a lot of sources, finally found her contact number. By that time I had a new attorney, who happens to know her. He contacted her, and she agreed to return my fees, so I can pay this new lawyer. Well, long story short, I never received my money back. I am flat broke and want to take her to small claims court, but have no clue as to how it works. Somebody help! My bankruptcy is still not discharged! This is so stressful!

[AttorneyOney]

According to [url]http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/BOC/faq/#how[/url], there is a one-year statute of limitations on legal malpractice actions, so you'd better move quickly. Most small-claims clerks will help consumers fill out the complaint forms and advise them on procedure. When a statute of limitations is about to expire, many lawyers will just file suit immediately and then do the research to see if there might be a "discovery rule" or other principle that would make the suit timely. In your case, for example, it sounds as if there was a recent promise to pay, of which you might be a third-party intended beneficiary. That might be sufficient to toll the SoL under Ohio law.

You might also check out [url]http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/BOC/[/url], which is Ohio Supreme Court's attorney-discipline portal. Neglecting a client's case in the way you describe is almost per-se a violation of legal ethics. Even though the BOC says it does not recover funds, the threat of an ethics sanction might be enough to persuade your former attorney to do the right thing. Don't threaten, however: file your complaint and pursue it. If the facts are as you say, the attorney needs to be forcefully reminded of her duties.