Problem with my attorney

[thehigherroad]

What is the name of your state? California

I just finished a custody case and I have a few complaints about my attorney and I am not sure if I have any where to go with them.

He told me we were going to settle the money issues outside of court (in the hall immediately after court). I was owed a few thousand in arrears and he told me I was not entitled to interest. I argued with him because I had read that in California it is 10% and is automatic. He said they never grant it. Is that true? He made me sign an agreement that said I was owed this amount and it was payable in 100 monthly payments until paid in full. Did I sign away my rights to interest?

He "forgot" to put in a specific order change regarding the tax exemption of the kids which basically screwed me. They based the support on the way we would claim the kids and then forgot to put it in the order.

I just got an outrageous bill from him. I want to talk to him about fixing these issues but I know he will charge me for talking to him. I don't want to give him another dime since he messed up so bad.

He did not fight for me in court. He only said a few words. He allowed the opposing attorney to yell at me pointing his finger at me whild in the hall after court.

Do I have anything I can do to fix this or make him be held accountable?

[thehigherroad]

Please, any advice would be appreciated.

I know my attorney made huge mistakes. Besides the ones I listed. He caused me to lose some visitation I would have gotten had he even tried to argue the case in court.

He is charging me for 1.3 hours to "prepare for case" he barely even spoke in court! I gave him notes while the other attorney was speaking so he would know what was incorrect and that I was not agreeing and he did not mention any of what I told him!!

If an attorney makes these kind of mistakes can I appeal the judgement?

[nrknlknek]

The legal industry is self regulating meaning there are few remedies for people who are victims of malpractice, misfeasance etc. That said, every state has an attorney diciplinary office, bureau...whatever. They will (reluctantly) review your claim provided you assert it in the manner they percribe which usually means completing some kind of claim form. The situation may or may not be investigated. In many states, the only claims investigated are ones where the attorney has taken money from the client trust account improperly or some other financial indiscretion. There are some lawyers who represent parties asserting claims against other lawyers. As you can imagine, these lawyers are not too popular among their peers!

[tpaigejames]

I live in Virginia.
This is so similar to what happened to me with my attorney, it is scary!
I live on disability and never got my case properly handled and my attorney has been billing me for having to take my ex to court for failure to obey a court order. He should have to pay up.
She stood there and let them lie and never fought for what was agreed on.
I will never be able to trust an attorney again!

[maidao2001]

You need to tell your lawyer that you need to discuss your bill, and specifically request that he discuss this without charging you. If he has even the tiniest ethical bone in his body he should be willing to do this.

Secondly, I concur with nrknlknek - filing with the state bar is a waste of time - unless the guy is guilty of gross malpractice you will get little support from them. Your only recourse is to file a civil suit against the guy for malpractice. Look for a lawyer who lives in another county from the one yours practices in. Get a free consultation and go from there. He will let you know if it's worth persuing or not.

As for trusting attorneys (I am responding to tpaigejames comment "I will never trust an attorney again") Like all professions, there are people who practice theirs with ethics, and those that don't. It's the client's responsibility to hire the attorney, and you need to put him through as rigorous an interview process as you would if you were hiring an employee for your company, or choosing a doctor for surgery. My theory is because legal fees are so much higher than other fees, people are much more disgruntled when they get an unethical lawyer. However, if you just picked the first lawyer you found in the phone book, you deserve what you got.