Crappy Divorce Attorney

[Agler052408]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? South Dakota
I hired a divorce attorney for legal guidence through my divorce, to I know what to expect while going through the proceedings, and to make sure I don't get "screwed". I paid him in full via Cashier's check March 8th. I made several attempts to contact my attorney via telephone. When I did finally speak with him, I spent half the conversation reminding him who I was, why I was a client of his, and where we were at in the divorce process. That should had promted me to ask for my money back and look for a new attorney then... but I was nieve. I didn't get my divorce stipulation till May 13th. I served my husband and made sure a copy of the admission of service got sent back to my attorney. He got it filed with the clerk of courts right away, then started my 60 days of waiting till we could have a divorce hearing. My husband was instructed to file an answer to my stipulation within 30 days with the clerk of courts (COC), and to send a copy of that to my attorney. My husband filed an answer with the COC but didn't send a copy to my attorney. I didn't get a phone call from my attorney checking in to see if there was an answer filed, or to see how I was doing. The 60th day in the waiting period was up July 18th. The only correspondence I have had with my attorney is him sending me a bill for the phone calls I made to him. I didn't pay it for a month then got another bill with interest tacked on so I paid the bill. I went down to the COC and got a copy of my husband's answer to my stipulation and was going to fax it to my attorney. I called and let them know it was going to be arriving via fax, but never faxed it. I never got a call back asking where it was or if I even sent it. I still have yet to hear anything from my attorney. I am in the process of filing a complaint with the State Attorney General, but after that... I am lost on my next move. I have done a lot of work on my own after I came to the realization that my attorney was getting paid for nothing. It effected me emotionally, physically, and financially. I drew up a 6 page parenting plan and compromised on all the rebuttles my husband laid out in his answer to my original stipulation he filed with the COC. If I would have filed that as a legal document, I would have been selling myself short. My husband and I now worked out all the differences except for custody and child support amounts. What do I do now?

 

[mistoffolees]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? South Dakota
I hired a divorce attorney for legal guidence through my divorce, to I know what to expect while going through the proceedings, and to make sure I don't get "screwed". I paid him in full via Cashier's check March 8th. I made several attempts to contact my attorney via telephone. When I did finally speak with him, I spent half the conversation reminding him who I was, why I was a client of his, and where we were at in the divorce process. That should had promted me to ask for my money back and look for a new attorney then... but I was nieve. I didn't get my divorce stipulation till May 13th. I served my husband and made sure a copy of the admission of service got sent back to my attorney. He got it filed with the clerk of courts right away, then started my 60 days of waiting till we could have a divorce hearing. My husband was instructed to file an answer to my stipulation within 30 days with the clerk of courts (COC), and to send a copy of that to my attorney. My husband filed an answer with the COC but didn't send a copy to my attorney. I didn't get a phone call from my attorney checking in to see if there was an answer filed, or to see how I was doing. The 60th day in the waiting period was up July 18th. The only correspondence I have had with my attorney is him sending me a bill for the phone calls I made to him. I didn't pay it for a month then got another bill with interest tacked on so I paid the bill. I went down to the COC and got a copy of my husband's answer to my stipulation and was going to fax it to my attorney. I called and let them know it was going to be arriving via fax, but never faxed it. I never got a call back asking where it was or if I even sent it. I still have yet to hear anything from my attorney. I am in the process of filing a complaint with the State Attorney General, but after that... I am lost on my next move. I have done a lot of work on my own after I came to the realization that my attorney was getting paid for nothing. It effected me emotionally, physically, and financially. I drew up a 6 page parenting plan and compromised on all the rebuttles my husband laid out in his answer to my original stipulation he filed with the COC. If I would have filed that as a legal document, I would have been selling myself short. My husband and I now worked out all the differences except for custody and child support amounts. What do I do now?

If you want to do it yourself without your attorney, no one is stopping you. Determine custody based on the best interests of the child and then use your state child support calculator to figure out what the support should be. Then submit it to the court as a stipulated agreement and move on with your life.

If you aren't happy with what your attorney is doing, then get a different attorney. I don't see anything that suggests that your attorney has done anything warranting an ethics violation. Being incompetent is not grounds for being disbarred.

 

[LdiJ]

If you want to do it yourself without your attorney, no one is stopping you. Determine custody based on the best interests of the child and then use your state child support calculator to figure out what the support should be. Then submit it to the court as a stipulated agreement and move on with your life.

If you aren't happy with what your attorney is doing, then get a different attorney. I don't see anything that suggests that your attorney has done anything warranting an ethics violation. Being incompetent is not grounds for being disbarred.

Actually Misto, I think that incompetency is grounds for sanctions in many states. Although I am thinking that incompetency isn't really the right word here. Its more of a failure to do the job that they were retained to do.

The Bar has more choices than just disbarment.

 

[Bali Hai]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? South Dakota
I hired a divorce attorney for legal guidence through my divorce, to I know what to expect while going through the proceedings, and to make sure I don't get "screwed". I paid him in full via Cashier's check March 8th. I made several attempts to contact my attorney via telephone. When I did finally speak with him, I spent half the conversation reminding him who I was, why I was a client of his, and where we were at in the divorce process. That should had promted me to ask for my money back and look for a new attorney then... but I was nieve. I didn't get my divorce stipulation till May 13th. I served my husband and made sure a copy of the admission of service got sent back to my attorney. He got it filed with the clerk of courts right away, then started my 60 days of waiting till we could have a divorce hearing. My husband was instructed to file an answer to my stipulation within 30 days with the clerk of courts (COC), and to send a copy of that to my attorney. My husband filed an answer with the COC but didn't send a copy to my attorney. I didn't get a phone call from my attorney checking in to see if there was an answer filed, or to see how I was doing. The 60th day in the waiting period was up July 18th. The only correspondence I have had with my attorney is him sending me a bill for the phone calls I made to him. I didn't pay it for a month then got another bill with interest tacked on so I paid the bill. I went down to the COC and got a copy of my husband's answer to my stipulation and was going to fax it to my attorney. I called and let them know it was going to be arriving via fax, but never faxed it. I never got a call back asking where it was or if I even sent it. I still have yet to hear anything from my attorney. I am in the process of filing a complaint with the State Attorney General, but after that... I am lost on my next move. I have done a lot of work on my own after I came to the realization that my attorney was getting paid for nothing. It effected me emotionally, physically, and financially. I drew up a 6 page parenting plan and compromised on all the rebuttles my husband laid out in his answer to my original stipulation he filed with the COC. If I would have filed that as a legal document, I would have been selling myself short. My husband and I now worked out all the differences except for custody and child support amounts. What do I do now?

Hiring an attorney is no different than hiring a contractor to paint your house. Would you pay the contractor in full before the job was even started? Of course not.

If the contract called for the house to be painted brown and the contractor started painting it blue, would you let the contractor finish and then say something about it? Or would you fire the contractor on the spot and get another to do it right, then sue the original contractor for damages?

It's really your fault that you are in the predicament that you're in.

 

[Agler052408]

Thanks for feedback... I have an few options, we will see where they go...

To Bali Hai-
I want to thank you for your asinine response. Nice attempt at trying to make me feel stupid and worse about my situation, but no cigar. Your response may be how things should work in dealing with a contractor; however, the title of my post is NOT "crappy contractor" it is "crappy divorce attorney". I take full responsibility for being in the situation I am in; however I refuse to take responsibility for the attorney’s lack of professionalism, the fact that he is incompetent, and only sees me as a pay check. As an attorney, he has obligations he needs to uphold. He has not done that. I have held up my end of the contract, pay him a retainer, and for additional services billed. I am not past due, so his lack of service is not due to non-payment; it is because he is a CRAP attorney. I have sent in a complaint to the SD State Bar Disciplinary Board in regards to my experience. It is not my responsibility to bring judgment down for any wrong doings, but it is my responsibility to report any poor business practices. That way the next person in my situation doesn’t have to go through what I am.

Bali Hai, maybe you have not had the experience of a client/attorney relationship before, and if that is the case… why are you even responding to my post? So I’ll give you an idea of how it works in most situations. As a client seeking representation from an attorney, you are, most times, required to pay a retainer to said attorney. Only after that retainer is paid will the attorney begin work on your case. I was well aware that my husband was going to fight the divorce, which is why I sought legal counsel in the first place. I am not so stupid that I thought all I would have to pay is the retainer; so had full expectation that there would be additional fees and costs. However, I don't think I should be charged what I was for a phone conversation that took 30 mins longer than was necessary, or phone conversations that wouldn’t have been necessary had my attorney listed to what I laid out specifically to him. I am paying the attorney, he is working for me, and I should not be billed for his lack of professionalism and incompetence. As a client, I should not have more knowledge of the standing of my case than my attorney. I am not a Para-Legal; I am a client. It is not my responsibility to remind my attorney of who I was and what is going on in my case. When trying to reach my attorney I would leave voice mails, send emails and leave messages with secretaries; he should be well aware that I am trying to get in contact with him. That being said, if he is not familiar with whom I am or where my case stands, he should review my file before returning my calls, and emails; that way he didn’t need to waste his time or mine, since he is obviously very busy with a heavy case load. But no; instead he relied on getting that information from me, extending the time we spent on the phone, and ultimately billing me for his incompetency.

During the duration of time that the divorce case is being worked, attorneys send out bills. Because unfortunately, they don't wait till their case is closed before sending a bill for all the steps taken during the case filing. Why do you think so many divorces get put on hold before getting finalize? Maybe because the clients run out of money to fund the amount of time spent working on their specific divorce case. I paid the required retainer and bills that were sent to me. Why would anyone pay unnecessary interest charges if they can be avoided? I admit, I have made SEVERAL mistakes through this divorce process; I don’t have a crystal ball, nor can I see into the future, so mistakes are par for the course and should be expected. But I don’t want to continue to pay for those mistakes when I have paid in full for them already. I am now a single mom supporting a 2 yr old with NO child support while having custody of my son 70% of the time. I was/am not blessed with a fat trust fund I can access, a padded savings account, or an amazing salary to maintain a 2 income household on one income. I am not going to rely on my family to financially support my epic fail. They didn’t force me to marry my husband or hire a crap attorney, so why should they be responsible for paying for it?
Tim was not the first family law attorney I met with either. It was my thought process that I did enough research before making my attorney selection. I gave interviews, went to consultations, and utilized the SD State Bar website for attorney recommendations. I admit, I entered into contract to have Tim represent me uneducated and ultimately clueless as to what to look for or expect; I let my distressed financial state and lack of ability to pay top dollar for attorney representation, play a major role in my selection of an attorney. I am not blaming the fact that yes it is my fault for hiring the attorney I did, but I didn’t know at the time of signing the contract with him that he would handle my case or treat me the way he has. I believe an attorney has a due diligence as well. They don’t have to accept the case of the client trying to hire them. If they have a full case load, and are unable to devote and commit the time necessary to properly work the case, they should state that to the client at the time of the first consultation. That first meeting is not just for the client, it is for the attorney as well; they should be using that time to get details of situation and make a decision to either take the case or not. If they don’t take the case, they may even refer it to someone else who could/would. My attorney made the choice to accept my case, just as I made the choice to hire him. He made no indication that he had a full case load, he was not interested in representing me, or that it would be better for me to hire an attorney who works within the county I am filing for divorce in.

Misto & LdiJ- Thank you both for your responses. I know I can file and finalize a divorce without an attorney. The circumstances that surrounded me seeking legal counsel still exist. It isn’t necessary that I have legal representation; however I prefer it at this point. I have been thrown too many curve balls that have caught me off guard, and I want to make sure I am prepared and well armed against my husband when we walk into that court room. I have already paid my attorney; have not received what I paid for other than documents filed with the COC. Going forward, I wrote a letter to the SD State Bar Disciplinary Board about my experience. They will pass judgment and the consequences are not up to me. So I will either find another attorney or continue without representation. About the custody and child support, it has been submitted to the courts in my complaint, and my husband answered back that he does not agree. A judge is not going to listen to us argue, ultimately it is up to the court to decided final direction with both of those instances. But I am not going to let the actions of Tim go undisputed.

 

[Bali Hai]

To Bali Hai-
I want to thank you for your asinine response. Nice attempt at trying to make me feel stupid and worse about my situation, but no cigar. Your response may be how things should work in dealing with a contractor; however, the title of my post is NOT "crappy contractor" it is "crappy divorce attorney". I take full responsibility for being in the situation I am in; however I refuse to take responsibility for the attorney’s lack of professionalism, the fact that he is incompetent, and only sees me as a pay check. As an attorney, he has obligations he needs to uphold. He has not done that. I have held up my end of the contract, pay him a retainer, and for additional services billed. I am not past due, so his lack of service is not due to non-payment; it is because he is a CRAP attorney. I have sent in a complaint to the SD State Bar Disciplinary Board in regards to my experience. It is not my responsibility to bring judgment down for any wrong doings, but it is my responsibility to report any poor business practices. That way the next person in my situation doesn’t have to go through what I am.

Bali Hai, maybe you have not had the experience of a client/attorney relationship before, and if that is the case… why are you even responding to my post? So I’ll give you an idea of how it works in most situations. As a client seeking representation from an attorney, you are, most times, required to pay a retainer to said attorney. Only after that retainer is paid will the attorney begin work on your case. I was well aware that my husband was going to fight the divorce, which is why I sought legal counsel in the first place. I am not so stupid that I thought all I would have to pay is the retainer; so had full expectation that there would be additional fees and costs. However, I don't think I should be charged what I was for a phone conversation that took 30 mins longer than was necessary, or phone conversations that wouldn’t have been necessary had my attorney listed to what I laid out specifically to him. I am paying the attorney, he is working for me, and I should not be billed for his lack of professionalism and incompetence. As a client, I should not have more knowledge of the standing of my case than my attorney. I am not a Para-Legal; I am a client. It is not my responsibility to remind my attorney of who I was and what is going on in my case. When trying to reach my attorney I would leave voice mails, send emails and leave messages with secretaries; he should be well aware that I am trying to get in contact with him. That being said, if he is not familiar with whom I am or where my case stands, he should review my file before returning my calls, and emails; that way he didn’t need to waste his time or mine, since he is obviously very busy with a heavy case load. But no; instead he relied on getting that information from me, extending the time we spent on the phone, and ultimately billing me for his incompetency.

During the duration of time that the divorce case is being worked, attorneys send out bills. Because unfortunately, they don't wait till their case is closed before sending a bill for all the steps taken during the case filing. Why do you think so many divorces get put on hold before getting finalize? Maybe because the clients run out of money to fund the amount of time spent working on their specific divorce case. I paid the required retainer and bills that were sent to me. Why would anyone pay unnecessary interest charges if they can be avoided? I admit, I have made SEVERAL mistakes through this divorce process; I don’t have a crystal ball, nor can I see into the future, so mistakes are par for the course and should be expected. But I don’t want to continue to pay for those mistakes when I have paid in full for them already. I am now a single mom supporting a 2 yr old with NO child support while having custody of my son 70% of the time. I was/am not blessed with a fat trust fund I can access, a padded savings account, or an amazing salary to maintain a 2 income household on one income. I am not going to rely on my family to financially support my epic fail. They didn’t force me to marry my husband or hire a crap attorney, so why should they be responsible for paying for it?
Tim was not the first family law attorney I met with either. It was my thought process that I did enough research before making my attorney selection. I gave interviews, went to consultations, and utilized the SD State Bar website for attorney recommendations. I admit, I entered into contract to have Tim represent me uneducated and ultimately clueless as to what to look for or expect; I let my distressed financial state and lack of ability to pay top dollar for attorney representation, play a major role in my selection of an attorney. I am not blaming the fact that yes it is my fault for hiring the attorney I did, but I didn’t know at the time of signing the contract with him that he would handle my case or treat me the way he has. I believe an attorney has a due diligence as well. They don’t have to accept the case of the client trying to hire them. If they have a full case load, and are unable to devote and commit the time necessary to properly work the case, they should state that to the client at the time of the first consultation. That first meeting is not just for the client, it is for the attorney as well; they should be using that time to get details of situation and make a decision to either take the case or not. If they don’t take the case, they may even refer it to someone else who could/would. My attorney made the choice to accept my case, just as I made the choice to hire him. He made no indication that he had a full case load, he was not interested in representing me, or that it would be better for me to hire an attorney who works within the county I am filing for divorce in.

Misto & LdiJ- Thank you both for your responses. I know I can file and finalize a divorce without an attorney. The circumstances that surrounded me seeking legal counsel still exist. It isn’t necessary that I have legal representation; however I prefer it at this point. I have been thrown too many curve balls that have caught me off guard, and I want to make sure I am prepared and well armed against my husband when we walk into that court room. I have already paid my attorney; have not received what I paid for other than documents filed with the COC. Going forward, I wrote a letter to the SD State Bar Disciplinary Board about my experience. They will pass judgment and the consequences are not up to me. So I will either find another attorney or continue without representation. About the custody and child support, it has been submitted to the courts in my complaint, and my husband answered back that he does not agree. A judge is not going to listen to us argue, ultimately it is up to the court to decided final direction with both of those instances. But I am not going to let the actions of Tim go undisputed.

I now see why the attorney was unable to assist you.

 

[stealth2]

'Cept Bali's right (and I rarely agree with him). When it's something this important, one needs to be vigilant and also educate oneself. At the end of the day? It's YOUR life, and YOU need to keep track of things.

Otherwise? That last post was just way too long to bother with.

 

[ecmst12]

The more you want your attorney to do for you, the more you will pay him. The more you do for him and for yourself, the less you will pay him.

 

[tuffbrk]

To Bali Hai-
I want to thank you for your asinine response. Nice attempt at trying to make me feel stupid and worse about my situation, but no cigar. Your response may be how things should work in dealing with a contractor; however, the title of my post is NOT "crappy contractor" it is "crappy divorce attorney". I take full responsibility for being in the situation I am in; however I refuse to take responsibility for the attorney’s lack of professionalism, the fact that he is incompetent, and only sees me as a pay check. As an attorney, he has obligations he needs to uphold. He has not done that. I have held up my end of the contract, pay him a retainer, and for additional services billed. I am not past due, so his lack of service is not due to non-payment; it is because he is a CRAP attorney. I have sent in a complaint to the SD State Bar Disciplinary Board in regards to my experience. It is not my responsibility to bring judgment down for any wrong doings, but it is my responsibility to report any poor business practices. That way the next person in my situation doesn’t have to go through what I am.

Bali Hai, maybe you have not had the experience of a client/attorney relationship before, and if that is the case… why are you even responding to my post? So I’ll give you an idea of how it works in most situations. As a client seeking representation from an attorney, you are, most times, required to pay a retainer to said attorney. Only after that retainer is paid will the attorney begin work on your case. I was well aware that my husband was going to fight the divorce, which is why I sought legal counsel in the first place. I am not so stupid that I thought all I would have to pay is the retainer; so had full expectation that there would be additional fees and costs. However, I don't think I should be charged what I was for a phone conversation that took 30 mins longer than was necessary, or phone conversations that wouldn’t have been necessary had my attorney listed to what I laid out specifically to him. I am paying the attorney, he is working for me, and I should not be billed for his lack of professionalism and incompetence. As a client, I should not have more knowledge of the standing of my case than my attorney. I am not a Para-Legal; I am a client. It is not my responsibility to remind my attorney of who I was and what is going on in my case. When trying to reach my attorney I would leave voice mails, send emails and leave messages with secretaries; he should be well aware that I am trying to get in contact with him. That being said, if he is not familiar with whom I am or where my case stands, he should review my file before returning my calls, and emails; that way he didn’t need to waste his time or mine, since he is obviously very busy with a heavy case load. But no; instead he relied on getting that information from me, extending the time we spent on the phone, and ultimately billing me for his incompetency.

During the duration of time that the divorce case is being worked, attorneys send out bills. Because unfortunately, they don't wait till their case is closed before sending a bill for all the steps taken during the case filing. Why do you think so many divorces get put on hold before getting finalize? Maybe because the clients run out of money to fund the amount of time spent working on their specific divorce case. I paid the required retainer and bills that were sent to me. Why would anyone pay unnecessary interest charges if they can be avoided? I admit, I have made SEVERAL mistakes through this divorce process; I don’t have a crystal ball, nor can I see into the future, so mistakes are par for the course and should be expected. But I don’t want to continue to pay for those mistakes when I have paid in full for them already. I am now a single mom supporting a 2 yr old with NO child support while having custody of my son 70% of the time. I was/am not blessed with a fat trust fund I can access, a padded savings account, or an amazing salary to maintain a 2 income household on one income. I am not going to rely on my family to financially support my epic fail. They didn’t force me to marry my husband or hire a crap attorney, so why should they be responsible for paying for it?
Tim was not the first family law attorney I met with either. It was my thought process that I did enough research before making my attorney selection. I gave interviews, went to consultations, and utilized the SD State Bar website for attorney recommendations. I admit, I entered into contract to have Tim represent me uneducated and ultimately clueless as to what to look for or expect; I let my distressed financial state and lack of ability to pay top dollar for attorney representation, play a major role in my selection of an attorney. I am not blaming the fact that yes it is my fault for hiring the attorney I did, but I didn’t know at the time of signing the contract with him that he would handle my case or treat me the way he has. I believe an attorney has a due diligence as well. They don’t have to accept the case of the client trying to hire them. If they have a full case load, and are unable to devote and commit the time necessary to properly work the case, they should state that to the client at the time of the first consultation. That first meeting is not just for the client, it is for the attorney as well; they should be using that time to get details of situation and make a decision to either take the case or not. If they don’t take the case, they may even refer it to someone else who could/would. My attorney made the choice to accept my case, just as I made the choice to hire him. He made no indication that he had a full case load, he was not interested in representing me, or that it would be better for me to hire an attorney who works within the county I am filing for divorce in.

Misto & LdiJ- Thank you both for your responses. I know I can file and finalize a divorce without an attorney. The circumstances that surrounded me seeking legal counsel still exist. It isn’t necessary that I have legal representation; however I prefer it at this point. I have been thrown too many curve balls that have caught me off guard, and I want to make sure I am prepared and well armed against my husband when we walk into that court room. I have already paid my attorney; have not received what I paid for other than documents filed with the COC. Going forward, I wrote a letter to the SD State Bar Disciplinary Board about my experience. They will pass judgment and the consequences are not up to me. So I will either find another attorney or continue without representation. About the custody and child support, it has been submitted to the courts in my complaint, and my husband answered back that he does not agree. A judge is not going to listen to us argue, ultimately it is up to the court to decided final direction with both of those instances. But I am not going to let the actions of Tim go undisputed.

Wow. Just wow. You really need to focus on facts and skip the filler. I didn't bother reading the novel you wrote, however please note that when working with attorneys, less is more. Otherwise, your costs will skyrocket if you provide the same level of detail verbally or in writing to your attorney.

 

[htofu]

Wow. Just wow. You really need to focus on facts and skip the filler. I didn't bother reading the novel you wrote, however please note that when working with attorneys, less is more. Otherwise, your costs will skyrocket if you provide the same level of detail verbally or in writing to your attorney.

I got the bad divorce lawyer as well, he didn't fight for me, and told me ok let the judge decides and Judge always fair.
He came out of the court and didn't say anything and let the other site attacking me like bad person in the world. (Sigh....) too late for me when everything is done...

 

[tuffbrk]

Don't feel alone. Mine felt you get more with honey...and instead I simply became the feast for the ex. Unfortunately I didn't find this site until well into the divorce process.

It takes time but it gets better. Most of the time I have a "live and learn" attitude. Other times, especially when I learn something new and realize how poorly I was represented, it is difficult to not resent that you can't get a refund for lousy service and the service provider does not feel any responsibility for messing up.

Hang in there, look forward and try not to dwell too much on it. If you become bitter - well, then you're ex really has won.

Good luck. Please keep us informed about any post judgement actions in which you may be successful!