| Legal Ethics & Lawyer Malpractice
New Jersey.
I met with a lawyer in Jan. 2005. The company I was working for was sold. The day before the closing I received a letter from my company stating I resigned. I did not resign. I met with this attorney for a free consultation regarding my severance pkg., withhold earned salary and accrued vacation, termination of health and dental benefits with notice, copies of paycheck copies and letter of recommendation.
I had researched this on-line before meeting with him. Met with him no more than 1/2 hour. We gave him a check for $250 to hold until we decided if we were going to hire him on a per hour or on a contingency fee basis.
He was going to send out a demand letter on my part but I contacted him and asked that I see it before he sends the letter. The letter he was going to send out on my behalf could have been written better by a child in the second grade. If I had put my total trust in his ability as a lawyer and did not review that letter, I would have been completely humiliated.
I e-mailed him back stating I wasn't comfortable with the letter and that I wasn't comfortable with him representing me. When I requested he return my check he wrote, "the exchange of e-mail satisfies the requirement for a writing".
He never provided me with a written fee agreement and/or retainer agreement. I was going through a lot at the time and this just added to the mess. He wrote in one of his e-mails "there's not free lunch" like I was trying to get something for nothing. I found out later that he rented space from a big law firm so it would look like he was associated with that firm when in fact it was just him - in a rented office, no secretary, no large firm.
Can I sue him for the $250 in court? | 
07-28-2006, 10:56 AM
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