lawyer fees nightmare- my lawyer indirectly threatened me !

[justalayman]

He did not fulfill with the agreement, he did not file a motion to terminate the case as we agreed, instead he gave the case to his employee who filed a motion to administratively close the case and it was granted. we already paid 1500. it did not take 5 minutes in the court, the application my lawyer did ( 3 pages ) won't take 1 hour of work top, I collected all the evidence on my own and sent it to her through Email. If I knew that her boss would do that I would did it myself.

so he will unwind what has happened and file a motion to terminate. Problem solved.

 

[m316]

so he will unwind what has happened and file a motion to terminate. Problem solved.

First :He can not act without my consent, it is unethical to do that.
Second: I've sent a letter to the court to let them know about his threats. so even he want to act behind my back, I can file a complaint a gainst him
Third: I do not want to continue with his firm, NO lawyer has the right to blackmail his client.
Fourth :he said that we only pay if there is work to be done. and even if he had applied for motion to terminate the case, our verbal agreement was that we only pay1500. the 3500 only in the case is re-scheduled for 3 to 4 years, so we can pay him gradually through hearings.
but after what happened, I understood that he was not expecting the case to be administratively closed. he thought that he will continue with hearings and continue sucking our money! I am really disappointed. lawyers should be honest.

 

[justalayman]

First :He can not act without my consent, it is unethical to do that.
Second: I've sent a letter to the court to let them know about his threats. so even he want to act behind my back, I can file a complaint a gainst him
Third: I do not want to continue with his firm, NO lawyer has the right to blackmail his client.
Fourth :he said that we only pay if there is work to be done. and even if he had applied for motion to terminate the case, our verbal agreement was that we only pay1500. the 3500 only in the case is re-scheduled for 3 to 4 years, so we can pay him gradually through hearings.
but after what happened, I understood that he was not expecting the case to be administratively closed. he thought that he will continue with hearings and continue sucking our money! I am really disappointed. lawyers should be honest.

ok dude, you have it all under control. You tell him to get stuffed.



would you come back and let us know when you receive the complaint for the defamation suit though? Given what you have just posted, I suspect one may be in the works.

 

[quincy]

there was no deportation, it was a master hearing in asylum case, I did not want to proceed in the asylum so I asked him to terminate the case. his employee ( my lawyer) took the case and applied for administrative closure because I do not have a legitimate reasons to terminate the case. so the case is closed but not terminated as we agreed.
the agreement (retainer) was only for termination of the case. it does not include anything else. we laready paid him 1500 for his services

Thank you

Okay. If your case is still pending, it appears your first best step might be to speak with a couple of other attorneys in your area and see if one will take on your case at this late stage, this before terminating the services of your current lawyer. If you do not intend to hire another attorney, though, you could skip right to firing your current attorney if you are unhappy with his/her services.

If there are any steps outlined in your current contract on terminating the relationship with your attorney, you should follow those. Otherwise, you need to notify both your attorney and the court that you wish to terminate the services of the attorney. You can send a certified or registered letter to the attorney advising the attorney you no longer wish to employ him and that he should stop all work on your case. You should request that all of your files be sent to you or, if you have hired a new attorney, the new attorney can ask your attorney for a transfer of all files. The letter terminating the services of your attorney does not have to be fancy and full of legalese. A simple letter sent to the firm/attorney will work.

Here is where it gets tricky. If you signed a flat fee agreement with your attorney, the amount paid is generally considered earned. Your contract needs to be reviewed to see how the fee agreement is worded. Michigan operates a little differently than California when it comes to nonrefundable fees. In California, even with a flat fee agreement, you could be entitled to a refund for services not rendered.

The attorney will need to send you an itemized bill that justifies the amount owing or deducted from your retainer. If you do not believe the attorney has worked toward or completed any or all of the work he agreed to do for you, you can dispute the fee amount.

Here is a link on how you can dispute the fee: http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Public/Pamphlets/FeeDispute.aspx

What I have bolded of your post quoted above puzzles me a bit. If there is "no legitimate reason to terminate the case," the attorney you hired might have been frustrated in his efforts to satisfy the terms of the contractual agreement he had with you, through no fault of his own. This can be a complication in seeking a refund.

Most lawyers are honest. Most lawyers work hard for their clients. I am not sure what has happened with your attorney or your case.

Good luck.

 

[m316]

ok dude, you have it all under control. You tell him to get stuffed.



would you come back and let us know when you receive the complaint for the defamation suit though? Given what you have just posted, I suspect one may be in the works.

I'm ​sorry to disappoint you, but I'm ​afraid he won't try to sue. even if he did I recorded all our calls ( his threats, his yellings). so he would be the one in real trouble if he tries to sue.

I am not going to sue him because of what he did and I am not going to use it against him. but I really hate the fact that he lied to my face, and now he is trying to use the contract against me.

I think my only option for now is to wait his next move.
thank you

 

[justalayman]

I'm ​sorry to disappoint you, but I'm ​afraid he won't try to sue. even if he did I recorded all our calls ( his threats, his yellings). so he would be the one in real trouble if he tries to sue.

I am not going to sue him because of what he did and I am not going to use it against him. but I really hate the fact that he lied to my face, and now he is trying to use the contract against me.

I think my only option for now is to wait his next move.
thank you

he didn't have to record anything. He has a contract. I don't see how he gets in trouble for suing for his money

Regarding the defamation; that is a matter of record in what you sent to the various entities you contacted

I have no idea what you think you could sue for. Nothing you have posted even hints at the possibility of having a valid cause of action against him.

 

[m316]

Okay. If your case is still pending, it appears your first best step might be to speak with a couple of other attorneys in your area and see if one will take on your case at this late stage, this before terminating the services of your current lawyer. If you do not intend to hire another attorney, though, you could skip right to firing your current attorney if you are unhappy with his/her services.

If there are any steps outlined in your current contract on terminating the relationship with your attorney, you should follow those. Otherwise, you need to notify both your attorney and the court that you wish to terminate the services of the attorney. You can send a certified or registered letter to the attorney advising the attorney you no longer wish to employ him and that he should stop all work on your case. You should request that all of your files be sent to you or, if you have hired a new attorney, the new attorney can ask your attorney for a transfer of all files. The letter terminating the services of your attorney does not have to be fancy and full of legalese. A simple letter sent to the firm/attorney will work.

Here is where it gets tricky. If you signed a flat fee agreement with your attorney, the amount paid is generally considered earned. Your contract needs to be reviewed to see how the fee agreement is worded. Michigan operates a little differently than California when it comes to nonrefundable fees. In California, even with a flat fee agreement, you could be entitled to a refund for services not rendered.

The attorney will need to send you an itemized bill that justifies the amount owing or deducted from your retainer. If you do not believe the attorney has worked toward or completed any or all of the work he agreed to do for you, you can dispute the fee amount.

Here is a link on how you can dispute the fee: http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Public/Pamphlets/FeeDispute.aspx

What I have bolded of your post quoted above puzzles me a bit. If there is "no legitimate reason to terminate the case," the attorney you hired might have been frustrated in his efforts to satisfy the terms of the contractual agreement he had with you, through no fault of his own. This can be a complication in seeking a refund.

Most lawyers are honest. Most lawyers work hard for their clients. I am not sure what has happened with your attorney or your case.

Good luck.

Let me clear up your confusion, at the beginning I was also confused but after all his calls I put the pieces together, I have a clear image of the situation now.
he is a partner in a law firm, he told me if the termination is going to be accepted on the hearing date we only had to pay 1500. if not he is going to try to keep re-scheduling for the next 4 years until we have legitimate reason to terminate it. the rest of the 5000 (3500) was for that period of time. he assigned another lawyer for the case, at the day of the hearing, she told me that we do not have any legitimate reasons to terminate the case and it would be a waste of time if we did, so she was going to administratively close the case. she told me that is the best second thing she can do( termination would be the first). we went into the court for 5 minutes, she presented the form and it was granted. after 4 days her boss called me asking me to sign a new retainer for 1500 dolares for job authorization (1000) and FOIA (500) when I declined then his threats started. He lied to my face knowing that I do not have a legitimate reason to end the case he never talked to me about administrative closure
I think he was hoping that the case will keep on for 4 years, so he can suck more money.

thank you

 

[justalayman]

Oh, so now you completely change your "facts"

after 4 days her boss called me asking me to sign a new retainer for 1500 dolares for job authorization (1000) and FOIA (500) when I declined then his threats started.

Either pay for his services (where he is actually attempting to terminate the other contract) or expect he will undo what he has done. If you say he can't, then you would be wrong since he is only correcting his error. As long as you argue what he did was not what he was supposed to do, you keep giving him the right to correct his error.


So, you either accept your case as it is and terminate the attorneys services or plan on whatever he has done being undone. You don't get to benefit from his services and not pay the man. Geesh.

 

[m316]

Oh, so now you completely change your "facts"




Either pay for his services (where he is actually attempting to terminate the other contract) or expect he will undo what he has done. If you say he can't, then you would be wrong since he is only correcting his error. As long as you argue what he did was not what he was supposed to do, you keep giving him the right to correct his error.


So, you either accept your case as it is and terminate the attorneys services or plan on whatever he has done being undone. You don't get to benefit from his services and not pay the man. Geesh.

I already paid him more than he dererves for his services. now lying is considered as an error !

 

[justalayman]

I already paid him for his services, there is no new services. he tried to convice signing a new retainer but I will never do that.

have you asked if in signing this new retainer will the first retainer be cancelled?

It sounds like he is attempting to actually do what you want but you being resistant is getting in the way. As it stands, he has a contract to do something. Since that is what you contracted for, he has no reason to consider terminating that contract but actually to attempt to meet the goal and will attempt to reach the goal you originally sought. If you want to terminate it (other than substituting this new contract that simply covers the work already performed) then it sounds like he is going to push you to either allow him to earn the remainder of the contract or you can sue or whatever you feel you need to do to terminate the contract.


I think you are building the wall you are beating your head on here.

 

[quincy]

Let me clear up your confusion, at the beginning I was also confused but after all his calls I put the pieces together, I have a clear image of the situation now.
he is a partner in a law firm, he told me if the termination is going to be accepted on the hearing date we only had to pay 1500. if not he is going to try to keep re-scheduling for the next 4 years until we have legitimate reason to terminate it. the rest of the 5000 (3500) was for that period of time. he assigned another lawyer for the case, at the day of the hearing, she told me that we do not have any legitimate reasons to terminate the case and it would be a waste of time if we did, so she was going to administratively close the case. she told me that is the best second thing she can do( termination would be the first). we went into the court for 5 minutes, she presented the form and it was granted. after 4 days her boss called me asking me to sign a new retainer for 1500 dolares for job authorization (1000) and FOIA (500) when I declined then his threats started. He lied to my face knowing that I do not have a legitimate reason to end the case he never talked to me about administrative closure
I think he was hoping that the case will keep on for 4 years, so he can suck more money.

thank you

I have some concern that your attorney never told you why the case could not be terminated or why the administrative closure was preferable, but there could be a legitimate reason behind this. I don't know. Despite your attempt to clarify (which I appreciate, by the way), I am not quite understanding your case.

But that is okay.

I think you need to have everything personally reviewed by another attorney (or two) in your area of California, to see where you can go from here. If you are unhappy with how your attorney is representing you, though, and you have lost all trust that he is working for your benefit, you will probably be best served by terminating his services sooner rather than later. Until you act to terminate his services, he is still the attorney of record. You will want to notify him and the court that you are terminating his services and that you wish him to stop working on your case and then request a final detailed billing.

You can continue to post reasons why you believe your attorney is a bad one, and engage in arguments back and forth, but my bottom line is what I have written above. I do not want to wade through what is on track to be an unnecessarily long thread, so I will leave you with that.

Have a good night and good luck with your attorney.

 

[justalayman]

I already paid him more than he dererves for his services.

there is the problem.

You have stated it several times you think he has not worked enough to have earned the $1500. Fine, you go ahead and fight it but I am serious about making certain you do not defame him. You have hinted at it previously. If you wish to dispute his rights to his fee, then do so but keep the defamation to yourself, for your own benefit.

now lying is considered as an error !

lying is always an error. Your attorney didn't lie here though.

 

[Ohiogal]

He did not fulfill with the agreement, he did not file a motion to terminate the case as we agreed, instead he gave the case to his employee who filed a motion to administratively close the case and it was granted. we already paid 1500. it did not take 5 minutes in the court, the application my lawyer did ( 3 pages ) won't take 1 hour of work top, I collected all the evidence on my own and sent it to her through Email. If I knew that her boss would do that I would did it myself.
1500 for administrative closure, and he wants the rest of the 5000 ( 3500) !!!!! I think he is nuts !

I think you are a deadbeat and not wanting to fulfill your contract because you are cheap. How about that?

 

[quincy]

I think you are a deadbeat and not wanting to fulfill your contract because you are cheap. How about that?

You might be right, Ohiogal, but I am wondering about a "flat fee agreement" that says something like $1500 now and $3500 later if the case cannot be terminated. I would be interested in reading the actual contract.

m316 said he has paid the attorney $1500 and the case was not terminated - but it appears to be the attorney's decision not to terminate the case.

I admit that I am as confused by what is going on here as I was last night - this even after sleep and coffee - but it is possible m316 has a legitimate concern.

Maybe not likely ... but possible.

 

[tranquility]

I'm ​sorry to disappoint you, but I'm ​afraid he won't try to sue. even if he did I recorded all our calls ( his threats, his yellings). so he would be the one in real trouble if he tries to sue.

Did you disclose the fact and get his agreement to record the calls? If not, not only would they be inadmissible, but also be evidence against you for a crime.