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Attorney didn't do his job.

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heyred4

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
Florida

During my divorce and custody issue, my (now) ex-husband was in contempt on several issues. I directed my attorney to file motons of contempt, which he always said he was going to do - but never did. I believe that a record of contempt would have benefitted my case greatly.

My attorney first quoted me $8,000 for the case - which ended up being over $45k. I am now out of money and he is refusing to do any of the contempt filings that HE failed to do during the trial.

During the trial, opposing counsel made a point of accusing my attorney and the court-appointed psychologist of workign against his client / my ex-hsband. This was because they were having private meetings during the trial and opposing counsel was not privy to these meetings. This did NOT sit well with the judge and I believe this prejudiced her against my case as well.

Finally - one of my ex-husband's witnesses was did not attend her scheduled deposition. My attorney chose to deposition her during a courtroom break WITHOUT a court reporter present and she was not under oath. Based on this "deposition," he did not object to her being a witness and she completely changed her story from the one she told my attorney 30 minutes before. Her explanation? "I changed my mind." I feel that this was sloppy and also worked against me in my case.

There are other issues that I have with my attorney, but really would like an opinion - does this sound like malpractice?
 


Ohiogal

Queen Bee
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
Florida

During my divorce and custody issue, my (now) ex-husband was in contempt on several issues. I directed my attorney to file motons of contempt, which he always said he was going to do - but never did. I believe that a record of contempt would have benefitted my case greatly.

My attorney first quoted me $8,000 for the case - which ended up being over $45k. I am now out of money and he is refusing to do any of the contempt filings that HE failed to do during the trial.

During the trial, opposing counsel made a point of accusing my attorney and the court-appointed psychologist of workign against his client / my ex-hsband. This was because they were having private meetings during the trial and opposing counsel was not privy to these meetings. This did NOT sit well with the judge and I believe this prejudiced her against my case as well.

Finally - one of my ex-husband's witnesses was did not attend her scheduled deposition. My attorney chose to deposition her during a courtroom break WITHOUT a court reporter present and she was not under oath. Based on this "deposition," he did not object to her being a witness and she completely changed her story from the one she told my attorney 30 minutes before. Her explanation? "I changed my mind." I feel that this was sloppy and also worked against me in my case.

There are other issues that I have with my attorney, but really would like an opinion - does this sound like malpractice?
Nope. it does not sound like malpractice. It sounds like you are upset that you didn't win your case and want to blame your attorney. And $8k is a retainer in some areas for custody battles. What evidence do you have that the judge is/was prejudiced against you?

As for the costs -- you are aware that depositions cost a HECK OF A LOT MONEY, right? Each deposition could easily cost $2k if not more if you get a transcript.
 

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