Attorney just quit

[sosodone]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? AL
My eeoc charge against my employer was in the conciliation stage. I had received a pre-determination letter from the EEOC investigator stating that the commission has found cause of retaliation based on title VII. Then it gave them a couple weeks to submit any further info. that they think may change the outcome of the findings. About a week before the deadline date, the company requested to try and settle & requested that I submit an offer. My attorney & I thought that to be good news. I went into his office to discuss it. Before submitting a figure he wanted to check to see if reinstatement was on the table. A day later or so, he received a letter from the EEOC investigator stating that she spoke to the company and reinstatement was not on the table. She also stated in the email to him that the company stands by their belief that they did nothing wrong. She said that in light of this the EEOC will have to downgrade this case to a no cause finding and give me a right to sue letter. She told him she disagreed, but she did not have the final word. Of course I was dumbfounded. I didn't understand what could have possibly changed. I wrote an email back to my attorney & the investigator, letting them know all that I had gone through since I was terminated. I went over the points of my case and again begged that the eeoc rethink their decision. The next day, I received an email from the eeoc investigator say that she understood and that unfortunately she did not have the final word. She advised me to take it to court & maybe the judge, after hearing the evidence, would find in my favor. I sent her a quick email back saying thank you, and that I just didn't understand why after a thorough investigation by herself that took several months, and after her finding that they did retaliate against me, and after she notified them of that. In less than 2 wks. the company can restate their original position and that be enough for the commission to change the finding to no cause. I told her that I found that odd. I told her I would think they would be more apt to side more with their experienced investigator. I also told her that I did intend to continue further with the case & I would not give up. Next thing I got a email back from her saying that she was going to forward the email to her manager & my attorney, and that I should do what I go.
Today I got an email from my attorney saying that he received the emails I wrote to the eeoc investigator and that I should not have done that. He said that I embarrassed him by writing it, and that I had the nerve to ask her for an explanation. He also said that I suggested that something nefarious was going on with the eeoc. He then stated that he will no longer represent me & he attached a letter he sent to the eeoc stating just that. For them to speak with me directly from now on.
Needless to say I was floored and surprised by this. I've met with him like 3 times and sent emails back & forth to communicate. Never has it been unpleasant or unprofessional until today. I am a professional & I've always been nothing but pleasant and cordial to him. I believe he is totally out of order. I will get another attorney and continue my fight, however I will also report him to the Bar Association. Any thoughts? (Sorry so long)

 

[eerelations]

From skimming through your long post I gather that you comnmunicated with the EEOC without your attorney's knowledge and/or authorization. Attorneys don't like this sort of behaviour, and with good reason - to have any shot at securing the best results possible for their clients, they need to control their clients' cases. If their clients communicate with other case participants, they (the attorneys) appear to have lost control of their cases, and they are embarrassed by this.

This is probably one of the most common reasons why attorneys resign from cases, and Bar associations are very understanding of attorneys who quit for this reason. So, I don't think reporting this attorney to the local Bar association will get you any positive results.

I think the best thing you can do is retain a new attorney, and promise him/her that you won't engage in this sort of behaviour again.

 

[sosodone]

Thanks for your response. Earlier on in the process, he encouraged me to go into the EEOC office to meet with her about the companys position. So I imagined talking with her was ok. Also when I sent the email, it was to him and cc'd to her. He was aware of that and had no problem. Then she responded to me only. So I just replied back to her with a 1 paragraph email. Oh well. I understand what you are saying. Its a blessing in disguise anyway. I would prefer a different attorney, so I won't complain.

 

[You Are Guilty]

While I understand the attorney's position here (and ee is correct that the Bar Association won't care about a complaint predicated solely on whay you've written), the person who is in the wrong here is your EEOC investigator. They should have known better than to send you any communication at all without at least cc'ing your lawyer, although ideally, all communication should have gone through him. They ought to know they cannot communicate directly with represented parties without your attorney's consent. Had they not done that in the first place, I suspect you wouldn't be where you are now.

Good luck.