Opinions on lawyer's behavior

[Seanscott]

What is the name of your state? Indiana

My friend & his wife were going through their divorce. She claimed to have hired a lawyer, but would not mention his name. My friend went to a local attorney and at their first meeting asked if his wife had been in to visit the lawyer.

The attorney responded that the wife had not been in his office regarding the divorce.

Months later, and one day before this couple went to court, the lawyer called my friend and told him that he just remembered that the wife had had a consultation with him regarding the divorce. The lawyer claimed he could not represent my friend now.

So my friend goes to court by himself and gets screwed. Now the lawyer is demanding payment from my friend because "we did a lot of work for you"

What do you attorneys think of this? Should my friend tell the attorney to stick it?

 

[smorr]

First off, I'm not an attorney, but I do work in law. Sounds like a couple things happened here. There is one attorney involved. This attorney did work for both the wife and your friend.

I can't properly answer your question since I'm not exactly sure whether or not the wife had a lawyer with her when they went to court and what kind of "work" this lawyer did for your friend that he needs payment for.

But - assuming this same lawyer did work for both parties - I think he is in violation of 'canon' laws (ethical standards set for all lawyers). A lawyer cannot represent two parties in the way this one did (if he did this). It's a conflict of interest and the court can sanction him for doing so by imposing fines.

If this is what happened, your friend may not be liable for payment of his services. (this is a guess, though)

But, please try to clarify this more, so I or a REAL attorney can properly respond. Thanks!

 

[ulearn2bstill]

you sound pretty professional to me

 

[ulearn2bstill]

I wonder though...is there a sliding scale on the levels of 'fool'?