my lawyer died

[MarcoD]

Hi i was wondering if anybody can help me, i paid my lawyer 7,000 for his services but unfortunately he died before he finish my case and now i have to pay another lawyer, since he died his firm also disappeared, my question is can i hire a lawyer to get my money back from the state bar of California? please someone advice, its a lot of money to lose.

 

[Silverplum]

Hi i was wondering if anybody can help me, i paid my lawyer 7,000 for his services but unfortunately he died before he finish my case and now i have to pay another lawyer, since he died his firm also disappeared, my question is can i hire a lawyer to get my money back from the state bar of California? please someone advice, its a lot of money to lose.

I cannot imagine that the State Bar Association of CA is responsible to give you a refund, but they certainly can help you get started on your task: http://calbar.ca.gov/Public.aspx

Good luck.

 

[MarcoD]

thank you for the response, is there anything i can do or a lawyer can do to get my money back? does this apply to get a re-found from Client Security Fund? please advice.

 

[quincy]

thank you for the response, is there anything i can do or a lawyer can do to get my money back? does this apply to get a re-found from Client Security Fund? please advice.

How long ago did your attorney die?

 

[MarcoD]

he died little over a year ago, but i send a letter to the state bar of California and haven't heard from them.

 

[quincy]

Hi i was wondering if anybody can help me, i paid my lawyer 7,000 for his services but unfortunately he died before he finish my case and now i have to pay another lawyer, since he died his firm also disappeared, my question is can i hire a lawyer to get my money back from the state bar of California? please someone advice, its a lot of money to lose.

How were you notified of your attorney's death?

Although there are many attorneys who do not plan ahead, many have arranged in advance for a "back up" attorney to handle client files upon their incapacity or death. This back up attorney should be able to access the trust account(s) that hold the client funds.

If there is no back up attorney authorized to approve disbursements from the trust accounts, the County Bar Association may have set up a program for the attorneys practicing in the county, to handle attorney client files and trust accounts. I would try contacting and working through the County Bar before contacting the State Bar.

You can hire another attorney, to help you get an order to direct the bank holding your retainer to release it, if this becomes necessary. And it might become necessary. There are other actions that can be taken if there are additional problems.

The good news is that your money has not disappeared with your attorney's death (or at least it shouldn't have). It is just a matter of getting the funds being held by the bank released to you.

 

[MarcoD]

thank you very much for your helpful replay, well i found out like 3 months after his death because when i went to his office the place was empty and someone in the building told me about his death, it was really hard for me to get a hold of the other attorney who hi left all my paper work but he told me that he was only taking the paper work as a favor and he had no affiliation with my lawyer and if i wanted him to keep my case i would have to pay him or i could take my case to another lawyer. its being more than a year and i don't have any answers from the state bar my concern now is if its too late to file a claim and i don't have any idea how to file a claim. my concern is also that i don't have much more money to pay another lawyer witch i don't mind if is for sure i would get my money back because i can pay him from there. is here anybody that can refer me to a lawyer that can help me in this matter, idont want to do it my self because i feel like the state bar wont pay any attention to me. thank you.

 

[Silverplum]

thank you very much for your helpful replay, well i found out like 3 months after his death because when i went to his office the place was empty and someone in the building told me about his death, it was really hard for me to get a hold of the other attorney who hi left all my paper work but he told me that he was only taking the paper work as a favor and he had no affiliation with my lawyer and if i wanted him to keep my case i would have to pay him or i could take my case to another lawyer. its being more than a year and i don't have any answers from the state bar my concern now is if its too late to file a claim and i don't have any idea how to file a claim. my concern is also that i don't have much more money to pay another lawyer witch i don't mind if is for sure i would get my money back because i can pay him from there. is here anybody that can refer me to a lawyer that can help me in this matter, idont want to do it my self because i feel like the state bar wont pay any attention to me. thank you.

We cannot provide referrals.

Try again with the CA Bar Association.

 

[quincy]

... it was really hard for me to get a hold of the other attorney who hi left all my paper work but he told me that he was only taking the paper work as a favor and he had no affiliation with my lawyer and if i wanted him to keep my case i would have to pay him or i could take my case to another lawyer. its being more than a year and i don't have any answers from the state bar my concern now is if its too late to file a claim and i don't have any idea how to file a claim. my concern is also that i don't have much more money to pay another lawyer witch i don't mind if is for sure i would get my money back because i can pay him from there. is here anybody that can refer me to a lawyer that can help me in this matter, idont want to do it my self because i feel like the state bar wont pay any attention to me. thank you.

The State Bar will pay attention to you. But, again, I recommend you start at the County Bar level to see what can be accomplished from there.

And, if your client files are being held by another attorney, you can hire any attorney you want and the attorney you hire can have the files transferred to him/her. The attorney you hire can also handle the release of any funds being held in trust by your former attorney - and you can use what is there to have this new attorney work on your case.

But nothing has been done on your case for over a year? What sort of case is this? Just curious, as these questions don't relate to your concerns.

Here once again is the link to the California Bar Association, provided already by Silverplum, which can direct you to attorneys in your area who can help you:
http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Public.aspx

Good luck.