Attorney's Motion To Withdraw

[fldadneedshelp]

What is the name of your state? Florida

My attorney as has filed his motion to withdraw from my case that has been going on for 6 months now.

From the onset there have been many things that he has done that has made me want to fire him, but I simply did not have the means to hire another attorney. He was paid his retainer in full and now he is claiming that he is withdrawing for me violating our engagment agreement (nonpayment). I only received a new bill from him 2 weeks ago with no itemization and no due date. When I called his office to request the itemized bill, his legal aid told me that she would have him call me (which he never did) but I would need to pay the amount before 12/07/07 which is to be my deposition hearing. Now, he has his motion to withdraw hearing on 12/05/07 (this Wednesday) which he scheduled for 5 minutes.

I called the Judge's Assistant to let her know that I wanted to 1. do a telephonic hearing so that I can tell the judge my piece during his motion to withdraw, and 2. to the let the Judge's Assistant that I will be filing a Motion to Continue so that I can postpone the deposition tis Friday and hopefully get 30 days to find a new attorney.

Here is a past detail of my case on this forum https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=366013 but here is what I feel he has done wrong so far:

- in my original response he filed that I wanted "full custody" of my girls rather than the shared custody that I wanted and that my wife filed for becuase he said "it would give us more leverage when it came down to negotiating...standard practice" he claimed.

- it took him a month and a half to file a motion for contempt when at first he claimed there was nothing he could do to facilitate me seeing my girls more. The same day he also filed a Motion for Temporary Relief.

- after reaching an impasse at our mediation hearing, he turned to me a stated that "I wasn't prepared for this".

- he did not set a date for the Motion For Temporary Relief which he was supposed to after the mediation I just found out. He told me the court had not set the date yet, when in fact he was supposed to do it.

- he agreed to a Social Investigator on my behalf without answering my questions about it and advising me of the fees attached to it first.

- he has only returned my calls or emails after about 3-4 weeks at a time at his convenience, usually in the evening.

- he has not provided me with accurate accounting or invoices in my case.

It is my belief that he is trying to get out of this case because he is mainly a mediation attorney (by his own admittance) and he basically does not know what to do. I think that he is using the financials as a excuse to withdraw from this case. I believe this because why wouldn't he have set a date for the Motion For Temporary Relief to get money so that he could get paid? It just doesn't make sense.

My questions to everyone now are:

1. How do address this attorneys nonperformance, deceipt, failure to communicate and failure to provide accurate accounting to me? He is requesting the court grant him his past due fees, but I think he should even refund my retainer.

2. Is this done at this hearing or through the Florida bar or by hiring another attorney?

This a very important and pivotal time in my life and I am not going to let some jerk get away with botching up my divorce!

 

[LdiJ]

What has happened is that mom hired a heavy hitter attorney when you got temporary 50/50 custody at your contempt hearing.

The attorney has asked for the social evaluation and depositions. It is not possible to say no to the depositions, and its almost guaranteed that the judge would order the social evaluation (normal if one of the parties asks for it) whether you agreed to it or not.

Your attorney knows that the case is going to be more expensive than previously thought, so the attorney is asking you for more money. Unfortunately, that's normal too. Since you apparently cannot pay, your attorney wishes to withdraw. Your attorney may also not wish to try the case since he prefers mediation.

You MUST come up with the money for the social evaluation. You are also going to have to come up with the money for another attorney, or represent yourself (which is not the best move).

Personally I think it was a mistake that you started out asking for full custody. That has made the situation much more hostile that it might have been otherwise.

 

[fldadneedshelp]

Yes, I understand and recognize all that, but why wouldn't my attorney have set the date for the Motion For Temporary Relief when he knows there is money to be had from the sale of our marital assets by my wife after our separation which he claimed was a "slam dunk". I am quite sure that money would have more than paid for his attorney's fees. It just doesn't make sense.

 

[majomom1]

Yes, I understand and recognize all that, but why wouldn't my attorney have set the date for the Motion For Temporary Relief when he knows there is money to be had from the sale of our marital assets by my wife after our separation which he claimed was a "slam dunk". I am quite sure that money would have more than paid for his attorney's fees. It just doesn't make sense.

The attorney cannot set the date for hearings. That is done by the courts. If your ex is contesting any of that, then that could cause a delay there too.

Unfortunately nothing in divorce is a "slam dunk". I too think it was a mistake to ask for full custody. The old thought process that you ask for a bunch, and then negotiate to something fair, does not work when custody is involved.

 

[LdiJ]

Yes, I understand and recognize all that, but why wouldn't my attorney have set the date for the Motion For Temporary Relief when he knows there is money to be had from the sale of our marital assets by my wife after our separation which he claimed was a "slam dunk". I am quite sure that money would have more than paid for his attorney's fees. It just doesn't make sense.

He may simply not want to litigate the case...and now that litigation is necessary, he is bowing out. How much money was involved in the sale of the assets? Its possible that mom has already spent it on the high powered attorney.

 

[fldadneedshelp]

The attorney cannot set the date for hearings. That is done by the courts. If your ex is contesting any of that, then that could cause a delay there too.

Yes and no. The Motion For Temporary Relief was filed back in August. Once we reached and impasse at our Mediation in September, my attorney was supposed to request the earliest date for this hearing. Yes, the court ultimately sets the date, but he never requested it. I just spoke to the JA on Thursday about this. It is now December and this Motion could have been heard already.

Unfortunately nothing in divorce is a "slam dunk". I too think it was a mistake to ask for full custody.

Me too, but now what do I do? This was against what I wanted all along.....

He may simply not want to litigate the case...and now that litigation is necessary, he is bowing out. How much money was involved in the sale of the assets? Its possible that mom has already spent it on the high powered attorney.

There is over $40K involved in the sale of the assets. Car, furniture, electronics, my business items and personal belongings. I am sure that she has spent alot of it, but I am certainly entitled to my share as well.....no?

 

[fldadneedshelp]

If I decide to go "Pro Se" the rest of the way in this, can I communicate with opposing counsel via phone just like an attorney would or is he not allowed to communicate with me?

 

[Ohiogal]

If I decide to go "Pro Se" the rest of the way in this, can I communicate with opposing counsel via phone just like an attorney would or is he not allowed to communicate with me?

If you are unrepresented -- meaning your attorney has withdrawn and been given permission by the court to withdraw -- then you can talk to opposing counsel.