Lawyer won't refund remainder of retainer

[grunt386]

Our lawyer basically disappeared towards the end of our case and we proceeded to finish it by ourselves since we were unable to locate her. I finally found her listed in a CA law office and was able to get in contact with her. I asked for the unused portion of our retainer to be refunded, and for a copy of our file to be sent to us, and also an itemized statement of what was billed to the retainer.

She sent nothing. I've sent her several emails and tried calling as well. No response. I am unsure of what to do next, please help. From what I have calculated based on an itemized statement she had recently submitted to the court, she owes us about $3,000.

We live in NY.
Thank you.

[nrknlknek]

You have one (and I regret to say only one) unpredictable course of action which is to file a complaint against the attorney in the jurisdiction in which she is practicing. First, go to the state's attorney registration website to ascertain if her license is current and her addrress. Then call (some states have this online) the diciplinary commission for attorneys and complete the process to assert your claim. However, understand that the legal profession is self regulating meaning that the diciplinary organizations are comprised of lawyers and are really in business to protect their profession, not necessarily the consumer---kinda like hiring the fox to guard the hen house. Nevertheless, they will reposnd to well founded and documented complaints.