Incompetent Attorney?

I thank you in advance for any help or advice offered.
I reside in Massachusetts. I'll give a brief background of my case and what has transpired since.

When I was 11-13 years old, I lived at a residential school here in MA. While there, I was repeatedly sexually abused by one of the teachers. I am 42 years of age now and only recently have begun to understand the damage that was caused by the abuse.

In an effort to reslove the issues of my past, I had been searching for some time to find my abuser so that I could confront him and, hopefully, get some form of explanation that might put some of those issues behind me.

I did finally locate him and contacted him at work. He was, to say the least, very surprised to hear from me, although he did seem as though he was willing to speak to me since he told me that I had reached him at an inconvenient time and to call him a few days later, at his office, at a specific time. When I did, I got his voicemail so I left a message for him to return the call. He did not. I thought that perhaps he had somehow missed my message so I called him again, at his office and at home. He did not respond. Over a six week period I called him a total of 9 times, leaving non-threatening but increasingly irritated messages each time.

I finally realized he was not going to respond so I sought legal advice. The attorney I spoke to was not able to help me so I dropped the idea temporarily while I tried to sort things out.

A few days later, approximately ten days after I'd stopped calling the abuser, I was served with a restraining order and a suit for harrassment, assault & invasion of privacy. I had 7 days to find an attorney to represent me at the preliminary hearing. After making numerous calls to numerous attorneys that could not take the case on such short notice, I finally found one that could, the day before the hearing. As it turned out, he spoke the the plaintiff's attorney, they both acknowledged that the plaintiff had no grounds for the suit since I did not assualt him nor did I threaten him.

We negotiated an agreement (I did more work than the attorney) that allowed the injunction to stay in place and prevented me from filing suit against the abuser or the harrassment suit would be reinstated. This all took place over six months ago.

In December I wrote to my attorney requesting that he forward my file and all of its contents. He did not. For the next several months I was in therapy and counseling dealing with the aftermath of the abuse that took place so long ago as well as the trauma I endured by being sued by my abuser. I am still in therapy and probably will be for a long time.

The attorney never did forward my file. A little over a month ago I sent a second letter requesting that he forward my file. He did not. Last week I sent him a third letter, this time certified, requesting my file and a copy of the executed agreement. The file came but it is not complete. There were two proposed agreements that we rejected prior to the third and final agreement. The cover letter states that this is the file I had requested but that the executed agreement is not included because my attorney had never obtained a copy from the palintiff's attorney.

What are my rights here? How do I get a copy of the complete file? What are my attorney's obligations to me? Should he have forwarded it automatically when we reached a resolution? Should I have had to request it three times? Shouldn't he have obtained a copy of the agreement to be sure it was filed with the court?

As you may understand, this is a very sensitive issue for me and feeling like I am being mistreated by the attorney who promised to help me is making things worse. Again, I appreciate any help or advice you can offer. Thank you.

Although most attorneys keep works in progress to reference at a latter date, they are not required to do so. You have the complete file. What you don't have is the Attorney 'work product' for which there is no legal obligation.

move on with your life.

The file is not complete

The file is not complete because I do not have a copy of the executed agreement nor do I know whether the plaintiff ever signed it or even if it was filed with the court by the specified date. If it was not filed I am not bound by the terms of the agreement. Obtaining all of these items is necessary as I am considering filing suit against the abuser in an effort to 'move on with my life' as you so sensitively put it.
It appears that you, obviously, are not an attorney nor are you sensitive to the implications of child sexual abuse. You might visit www.malesurvivor.org to get an idea of how devestating it can be.

You asked very specific questions and I answered them. As for the final agreement, you can either contact the court to see if it was filed or not. Or you can send the attorney another letter demanding the agreement and/or it disposition.

Previous Proposals

I also feel I should have the right to see the previous proposals. Since I do not trust this attorney and since I didn't get to see them before, I do not know the specifics of what was rejected...it may not have been in my best interest. He took me on at the last minute, knew that there was little potential to make more money from me, therefore did not have a vested interest in what was right for me so may not have acted in my best interest. Do I not have the right to see what had been proposed?

What type of lawsuit are you intending to file?

go to the court where the TRO was filed and look at the court file. you will find out if the agreement was filed or not.

Are you sure the prior settlement proposals were in writing or just telephone calls between the attorneys? you are not entitled to the personal notes of the attorney.

Did you sign the final agreement?

Thanks

Thanks for your reply. The attorney had indicated to me that the previous proposals had been in writing. The only one that I know was verbal was at the courthouse on the day of the preliminary hearing when he told me that the other attorney assured him the whole thing would be dropped without prejudice. Obviously, that did not happen and when I pressed my attorney about it, he basically told me there was nothing he could do. One of the previous proposals that I do have a copy of, the attorney faxed it to me for my signature, required me to list the addresses of family members that live in the same town as the plaintiff. My attorney didn't even notice that it was in there. I flat out refused to give them that information since some of those family members are children and I was being sued by a child molester. My attorney also did not notice that there was a discrepancy in the number of feet vs. yards in distance that I was to keep away from the plaintiff's home and workplace respectively. See why I feel I may have been misrepresented? And I still don't have an answer to the question: Shouldn't my attorney have followed through and obtained a copy of the agreement signed by the plaintiff? I signed my copy and forwarded to the plaintiff's attorney. Thanks again for your help, sorry to be so long-winded but it is a fairly complicated issue. As for what type of suit I intend to file, that has yet to be determined.

to answer your question, yes, your attorney should have followed up to make sure the agreement was signed by the plaintiff. now what?

have you gone to the courthouse and requested to look at the court file?

Follow Up

Hello, and once again, thank you for your time. I called the courthouse since it was difficult for me to get to physically. The Clerk's office told me that the agreement was not filed on time and the case was dismissed without prejudice and without costs. She forwarded me a copy which sates, verbatim:
Judgement of Dismissal
As to all parties and all Claims.
The above entitled action having been reported settled to the court and an order for entry of dismissal NISI having been entered and the time within which to file the agreement for judgement having expired, thereupon, the complaint hereby is dismissed without prejudice and without costs. Dated January 14, 2004.

Now, does this mean I am not bound by the agreement I signed? Sure seems like it to me. I also received today a copy of the agreement signed by the plaintiff from my attorney's office. The dismissal indicates that he was sent notification of the dismissal. Shouldn't he have then notified me of the same? What are the implications of all this? Am I now free to go where I want when I want? To contact whomever I want when I want? Am I now able to file suit against the child molester despite having agreed not to in the Stipulation Agreement? Does this mean that there is no agreement or does it hold true simply because I signed it even though it was not filed by the deadline? Thanks again for your help, I truly appreciate it.