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AVVO review
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quincy
Senior Member
You can post a negative review about an attorney who represented you. You can, in turn, be sued by the attorney over what you write, this whether what you write is true or not.
If you are sued for libel, you would use truth (or substantial truth) as your defense - but you should be ready to PROVE the truth of all you wrote.
Here is a link to an overview of Illinois defamation law, from the Digital Media Law Project: http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/illinois-defamation-law
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adjusterjack
Senior Member
Yes, you can be sued. Truth may be a defense but it doesn't prevent the lawsuit.
Worse, unless you have gotten your issue satisfactorily resolved IN YOUR FAVOR with a complaint to a regulatory agency or by lawsuit then all you have is unproven allegations which, I suspect, you will not have "proof" of because if you had "proof" you would have been able to get your issue satisfactorily resolved IN YOUR FAVOR with a complaint to a regulatory agency or by lawsuit, which you apparently have not done.
I suggest you just chalk it up to experience because, for a lawyer to sue you, he won't have to pay another lawyer to do it but the cost for you to defend is likely to put you in the poorhouse.
quincy
Senior Member
Very few attorneys actually take the time to pursue a defamation claim over a negative review written by a former client. A lawsuit against a client often can be as harmful (if not more so) to an attorney's reputation as the single review.
That said, I know of more than a few attorneys who have taken exception to what has been written about them and they have taken legal action against individuals who have posted defamatory reviews.
More than one negative review writer has posted here after being sued for defamation. One fellow came trying to figure out what to do about the million dollar plus judgment awarded against him after an unsuccessful defense (bankruptcy, as a note, is not an option).
We also had one poster who was being sued for defamation. In his thread he named the attorney who was suing him and he linked to the review that led to the lawsuit. The attorney discovered the postings on this forum before we had the chance to edit them for content. The attorney used the thread postings as evidence against the defendant and to support additional damages.
If I locate the threads, I will provide links. They can be an education to those who are contemplating writing a negative review. There is a skill in writing a negative review well and most people have not mastered that skill.
That said, I know of more than a few attorneys who have taken exception to what has been written about them and they have taken legal action against individuals who have posted defamatory reviews.
More than one negative review writer has posted here after being sued for defamation. One fellow came trying to figure out what to do about the million dollar plus judgment awarded against him after an unsuccessful defense (bankruptcy, as a note, is not an option).
We also had one poster who was being sued for defamation. In his thread he named the attorney who was suing him and he linked to the review that led to the lawsuit. The attorney discovered the postings on this forum before we had the chance to edit them for content. The attorney used the thread postings as evidence against the defendant and to support additional damages.
If I locate the threads, I will provide links. They can be an education to those who are contemplating writing a negative review. There is a skill in writing a negative review well and most people have not mastered that skill.
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I have not filed a lawsuit due to finances. also, the regulatory commission stated sthe attorney's negliglence was not serious enough to warrant a discipine . sure is serious to me since he ruined my reputation by doing virtually nothing.
My second question, is would he sue being I live out of state and quite far from him. would he have to sue me in my home state? The problem I hired him for WAS IN Illinois.
I'mTheFather
Senior Member
Why not just say that you do not recommend him based on his handling of your case. No one will read all the particulars of your case anyway.
quincy
Senior Member
If you write a defamatory review and the attorney decides to sue, the attorney could have a choice of where to file his suit. When the defamed and the defamer reside in different states, the one defamed can sue where he lives or where the defamer lives or where the cause of action arose or where the harm to his reputation is greatest. There are pros and cons to each.
When the defamed and defamer live in different states, this increases the costs of an already costly legal action.
Here is one link to one of the threads I mentioned earlier, where a poster was sued for $2 million for calling an attorney a pedophile in an online post. The discussion in this thread is primarily over the fact that defamation judgments are rarely dischargeable in bankruptcy, eliminating for a defendant this option. https://forum.freeadvice.com/consumer-bankruptcy-2/does-bankruptcy-stop-slander-case-387665.html
There is a thread somewhere about how to post a negative review that might be more helpful to you, if you are serious about writing a review of your former attorney. I will post a link to it if I can find it - and I am still looking for the other thread (and actually there have been many threads about negative reviews leading to defamation suits).
If the disciplinary board did not find the attorney's actions serious enough to warrant discipline, you could be on even shakier ground if you post a negative review. Everything you write must be factual (no exaggerations, no embellishments, no opinions based on false fact).
Here is a link to a previous thread posted to this forum, on writing negative reviews about lawyers: https://forum.freeadvice.com/legal-ethics-lawyer-malpractice-89/writing-bad-reviews-about-lawyer-533943.html
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Avvo review
I did post a review with AVVO. Atty disputed it. He is spinning my certified letters to say that he does not have the information I want and that I need to go to the clerk of courts to get the file I want.
Here is what happened: The first letter I sent to atty, way back in the beginning of 2016, I asked for my file and stated what information was included in the file to be sure he sent me the whole file and not just a partial file.
That is when he said he did not have the information I wanted and to get the file from the clerk of courts office.
I then sent 4 or 5 more certified letters requesting my "attorney file" with no stipulation as to what it may include. I also made sure to say the word "ATTORNEY" file in my subsequent letters. He now refers back to the first letter, still spinning it, and telling me I want the clerk of courts file because he does not have the information I want!! It is quite obvious atty is stalling and not wanting to give me my "attorney file".
What I would like is some help in the exact wording to put in my next certified letter to ask him to stop the spinning of my request and stop referring to my first letter and just mail me my "attorney file". All these letters are costing $50 just to get my attorney file. Thank you.
I did post a review with AVVO. Atty disputed it. He is spinning my certified letters to say that he does not have the information I want and that I need to go to the clerk of courts to get the file I want.
Here is what happened: The first letter I sent to atty, way back in the beginning of 2016, I asked for my file and stated what information was included in the file to be sure he sent me the whole file and not just a partial file.
That is when he said he did not have the information I wanted and to get the file from the clerk of courts office.
I then sent 4 or 5 more certified letters requesting my "attorney file" with no stipulation as to what it may include. I also made sure to say the word "ATTORNEY" file in my subsequent letters. He now refers back to the first letter, still spinning it, and telling me I want the clerk of courts file because he does not have the information I want!! It is quite obvious atty is stalling and not wanting to give me my "attorney file".
What I would like is some help in the exact wording to put in my next certified letter to ask him to stop the spinning of my request and stop referring to my first letter and just mail me my "attorney file". All these letters are costing $50 just to get my attorney file. Thank you.
quincy
Senior Member
No one on this forum can help you with wording your letter. That goes beyond the scope of this forum as it gets into the practice of law. The forum members who are not attorneys would, therefore, be practicing law without a license if they were to help you, and the forum members who are attorneys would be violating their state professional and ethical codes.
You will need to write the letter on your own or seek out the assistance of an attorney in your area.
I am not surprised that your review has created problems.
Good luck.
quincy
Senior Member
Sounds like a plan. Sorry we can't assist you. Good luck.
quincy
Senior Member
That certainly sounds easiest.
As a note, an attorney does not have to provide a former client with every document generated by the client's case. Attorney work product, for example, can remain the sole property of the attorney - and the attorney does not have to provide files to a client until the attorney has been paid for his services.
Here are links to Illinois Bar Association ethics opinions:
https://www.iardc.org/ethics_faq.html
https://www.isba.org/sites/default/files/ethicsopinions/94-14.pdf
https://www.isba.org/sites/default/files/ethicsopinions/01-01.pdf
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