Attorney not responding

[brandonm]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? FL

I am sued by an alleged defamation case. My attorney is not responding (no communication at all!) despite my repeated requests. She put me in dark about some motions filed by the plaintiff and some rulings/decisions made by the court. I paid all the attorney fee in advance/upfront. Can I complaint to Florida Bar? What are the impacts? I afraid that my attorney may backstab me or withdraw from the case.
However our legal agreement states the following about the situations in which the attorney can withdraw:

“The legal firm reserves the right to withdraw from representing the client in some limited circumstances. These circumstances include but not limited to the following:
Where insufficient legal grounds exist to continue a court or administrative action or appeal
If client fails to cooperate
Conflict of interest is discovered”

Can the attorney withdraw from representing me because I complained to the Florida bar?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? FL

I am sued by an alleged defamation case. My attorney is not responding (no communication at all!) despite my repeated requests. She put me in dark about some motions filed by the plaintiff and some rulings/decisions made by the court. I paid all the attorney fee in advance/upfront. Can I complaint to Florida Bar? What are the impacts? I afraid that my attorney may backstab me or withdraw from the case.
However our legal agreement states the following about the situations in which the attorney can withdraw:

“The legal firm reserves the right to withdraw from representing the client in some limited circumstances. These circumstances include but not limited to the following:
Where insufficient legal grounds exist to continue a court or administrative action or appeal
If client fails to cooperate
Conflict of interest is discovered”

Can the attorney withdraw from representing me because I complained to the Florida bar?

Yes, the attorney can withdraw from representing you. You can also fire the attorney and hire a new one.

I don't understand the "backstabbing" comment.

 

[brandonm]

“Yes, the attorney can withdraw from representing you. “
Does it mean, the attorney can collect the fee from her client and simply be silent after a while then withdraw if the client complaint to Florida bar? Is it legal?

backstabbing means favoring the plaintiffs (or working against her client but pretending as if she is working for the client)

 

[quincy]

“Yes, the attorney can withdraw from representing you. “
Does it mean, the attorney can collect the fee from her client and simply be silent after a while then withdraw if the client complaint to Florida bar? Is it legal?

backstabbing means favoring the plaintiffs (or working against her client but pretending as if she is working for the client)

Here is a link to the Florida Bar Association's Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 4-1.16, Declining or Terminating Representation: http://www.floridabar.org/divexe/rrtfb.nsf/FV/66CA8F049DF8A96985257171005B7194

The attorney can collect a fee for any work done on behalf of the client.

I don't understand why you think an attorney would work against his/her client. An attorney might work with the opposing party to fashion a settlement agreement that can resolve the matter without a trial, though.

 

[brandonm]

Thank you Quincy, for providing the link. I read the material at the link and will read it in detail one more time. The agreement I signed with my attorney is for the entire work (until the case is over) and I paid her a lump sum upfront as the TOTAL fee. Therefore, I think she is obligated to represent me until the case come to an end or a settlement happens with the plaintiff.

FYI: It is just a civil case and no crime is involved. Also, I did not violate any of the conditions stated in the link that you provided.

About “I don't understand why you think an attorney would work against his/her client.”: if I complain against my attorney, she may be upset, therefore she may try to take revenge on me by helping the plaintiff indirectly: a behavior common to some humans.

 

[Silverplum]

Thank you Quincy, for providing the link. I read the material at the link and will read it in detail one more time. The agreement I signed with my attorney is for the entire work (until the case is over) and I paid her a lump sum upfront as the TOTAL fee. Therefore, I think she is obligated to represent me until the case come to an end or a settlement happens with the plaintiff.

FYI: It is just a civil case and no crime is involved. Also, I did not violate any of the conditions stated in the link that you provided.

About “I don't understand why you think an attorney would work against his/her client.”: if I complain against my attorney, she may be upset, therefore she may try to take revenge on me by helping the plaintiff indirectly: a behavior common to some humans.

Her Win/Loss Column is of far more importance to her than risking her reputation over a disgruntled client.

 

[quincy]

Thank you Quincy, for providing the link. I read the material at the link and will read it in detail one more time. The agreement I signed with my attorney is for the entire work (until the case is over) and I paid her a lump sum upfront as the TOTAL fee. Therefore, I think she is obligated to represent me until the case come to an end or a settlement happens with the plaintiff.

FYI: It is just a civil case and no crime is involved. Also, I did not violate any of the conditions stated in the link that you provided.

About “I don't understand why you think an attorney would work against his/her client.”: if I complain against my attorney, she may be upset, therefore she may try to take revenge on me by helping the plaintiff indirectly: a behavior common to some humans.

Defamation actions are very rarely criminal actions so I understood it to be a civil action you were involved in.

The attorney is not necessarily obligated to represent you until the case comes to an end or there is a settlement. There are several reasons why an attorney might choose to withdraw from a case, and there are several reasons why a client may choose to fire their attorney.

The attorney will have to refund any amount of money that you have already paid that has not been used in furtherance of your case. The attorney should provide you with a detailed invoice to justify all charges.

You can file a complaint about your attorney if you feel you have a legitimate reason for filing one, but I recommend you address any complaint you have directly with your attorney first.

Most attorneys are protective of their licenses and are not going to risk violating professional rules or ethical codes.

 

[commentator]

And since their time and expertise are what they are marketing, many attorneys will not share a lot of that or make themselves readily available to their clients who want to call and discuss their cases very regularly. Did she really "put you in the dark" or was it just that she didn't return your calls to update you regularly? Your attorney is to represent you, this does not mean they have to discuss your case with you at every juncture and let you suggest what you think they should do, let you rebut every motion made by the other party, etc. I have seen several people fired by their attorneys. In several cases, it has been because the client demanded frequent contact and updates on their case that they attorney was not willing to provide. This action was not considered misconduct by the bar association.

It some cases, it happened that the client had paid a certain amount in "non refundable" fees at the beginning and didn't get their money back.

 

[quincy]

And since their time and expertise are what they are marketing, many attorneys will not share a lot of that or make themselves readily available to their clients who want to call and discuss their cases very regularly. Did she really "put you in the dark" or was it just that she didn't return your calls to update you regularly? Your attorney is to represent you, this does not mean they have to discuss your case with you at every juncture and let you suggest what you think they should do, let you rebut every motion made by the other party, etc. I have seen several people fired by their attorneys. In several cases, it has been because the client demanded frequent contact and updates on their case that they attorney was not willing to provide. This action was not considered misconduct by the bar association.

It some cases, it happened that the client had paid a certain amount in "non refundable" fees at the beginning and didn't get their money back.

One of the biggest complaints clients have about their attorneys is that the attorney does not keep them informed of all that is happening with their case. It appears that this is one of the complaints brandonm has with his attorney, as well.

An attorney should maintain regular contact with his/her client. The fact is, though, that there is often nothing for the attorney to report to the client. There can be long periods of time when nothing much happens. Because every contact the attorney has with the client costs the client money, many attorneys refrain from making frequent calls. This saves the client money. Even responding to a client's email is going to cost the client.

That said, the attorney must remember who s/he is working for. The client is entitled to know about motions that are filed and decisions made by the court.

One additional note: Most states do not allow for "non-refundable retainers" (Michigan and Pennsylvania are two of a handful of exceptions). If an attorney does not use the full amount of the retainer paid by the client, the attorney must return the remainder.

 

[brandonm]

Thanks to both of you. In response to Quincy’s question:

When the court gave its decision on a motion filed by the plaintiff, my attorney did not send me its copy for several months although that document is important.

In another incident, the plaintiff filed a motion for damages/compensation because my attorney failed to submit some documents on time to the plaintiffs: until now, I am not informed by my attorney that the plaintiff requested those documents or that the plaintiff filed the motion for the damages/compensation (I came to know about these details a few days ago when plaintiff accidentally CCed an email to me while sending to my attorney).

 

[commentator]

Wow, I stand corrected on this quincy. It used to be pretty much common practice in my area anyhow for attorneys to stick their clients with "non refundable" initial retainer payments. Then I see that due to some court decisions, this is not legal everywhere, though it still is in my good old TN

There is a line on appropriate level of contact, I agree, and I have seen many impatient clients cross it, leaving message after message on the attorney's machine and with their office staff demanding the attorney's attention. And I have seen the attorney fire such clients, not giving them their retainer back.

But then again, if there's something the client needs to know, they definitely should be contacted. That the attorney failed to get something submitted timely is a pretty interesting development.

I do think you should try very hard to work this out with your attorney before you start threatening with the state bar association or board of review or something of this type. Especially when you're still retaining the attorney and your case isn't over.

 

[quincy]

Thanks to both of you. In response to Quincy�s question:

When the court gave its decision on a motion filed by the plaintiff, my attorney did not send me its copy for several months although that document is important.

In another incident, the plaintiff filed a motion for damages/compensation because my attorney failed to submit some documents on time to the plaintiffs: until now, I am not informed by my attorney that the plaintiff requested those documents or that the plaintiff filed the motion for the damages/compensation (I came to know about these details a few days ago when plaintiff accidentally CCed an email to me while sending to my attorney).

You could have some legitimate complaints, but it is hard to tell from what you have written.

The motion by the plaintiffs for "damages/compensation" might have been a request made of the court to impose sanctions for failure on your part/your attorney's part to produce certain documents in a timely fashion. It is possible that your attorney responded to the motion by stating the document request was overly broad or to produce the documents would impose an unreasonable burden on you or the production of documents would be too costly or the documents were irrelevant to the action or they were privileged material ... there are a whole host of reasons why a motion for damages might be filed by the plaintiffs and a whole host of reasons why documents weren't produced by you/your attorney.

What you are seeing in your case right now could be nothing more than attorney-strategy or your attorney working hard to represent your interests.

I obviously don't know what is going on. I just know that most attorneys will do their best for their clients. What "best" is in your situation is something I can't tell you. If you do not trust your attorney, however, and you think your attorney is not acting on your behalf, I recommend you make an appointment with your attorney to discuss your case and what is going on with it. Or you could have another attorney review the facts of your case to date and provide you with an opinion based on those facts.

This forum does not permit any of us to do personal reviews so I am afraid there is little we can offer you in that regard.