By the way, Gettingrippedoff, I took a look through the thread and so far as I can see, not a single lawyer has posted in it (until me). Most of the people who respond here are not lawyers. So don't assume anything about lawyers from what you read in this thread. I think people were attempting to help you but the conversation simply got off course to what you wanted to know. That can lead to frustration. You asked this in your first post:
Two points to this. First, the attorney's duty runs to his client, which in this case is apparently the trustee, not to you. If the money you are to get comes from the trust, then it is the trustee that has the obligation to distribute funds to you. If you are correct that the trustee has no good reason to hold the funds and if the terms of the trust say you are due your distribution now then the answer to your question about recourse is that you sue the trustee in the appropriate court to compel the distribution. Your focus on the lawyer is misplaced since the lawyer does not owe YOU anything. The lawyer will act when his client — the trustee — tells him to act, assuming the trustee will pay the lawyer's fee, of course. It is the trustee who has the obligation to you and it is the trustee who is the real hold up in this case. Probably because, as you say, the trustee doesn't really care how fast the distribution is since he doesn't really need the cash. Consult an attorney about filing the action to compel if that's what you want to do.