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You said you signed an agreement, so the terms of that agreement will dictate your rights to terminate or other remedies. What does your agreement state about required performance by the attorney, how has he breached that performance requirement and are you given the right to terminate the contract without giving him an opportunity to remedy the situation?
I do think the agreement gives me the right to terminate the relationship.
Can you be more specific as to what your beef is? And, how are you so sure that you're so right on this issue? Just saying.
It's not necessarily about "right."
I am the customer.
If I'm not happy or comfortable with the service I'm receiving,I would think I have the prerogative to switch lawyers?
I've sat through some lawyers who took one, two, three hours to do a 1/2 hour settlement. And some who, nowadays when the paperwork got a lot longer, postponed at the last minute rather than eke into the evening because of their lack of prep. BUT, these were mostly lawyers not at all familiar with all the ramifications of real estate settlements.
I had buyers several years ago who wanted to use their adoption lawyer for their real estate settlement. (That area now more commonly used title companies, settlement companies rather than an actual in person lawyer at settlements.)
These guys thought they were great, making arrangements to leave their glamorous offices in a big city, and borrow space in another lawyer's office after hours for the settlement in their clients immediate area. They made a mess of it. They did bring a secretary who noted the entire transaction and even she could see they didn't know what they were doing. They made a lot of errors on the settlement sheet. And took hours. And were not prepared with any way to correct errors. The seller was not present. He was an experienced real estate attorney and when he received the paperwork he said it was chicken scratch. He was not going to sign that and they had to do it all over.
Somehow, my company got a bill from these guys. I communicated back. No response. Got another bill. So I contacted the head lawyer at their firm, a decent, honorable old school gentleman who was concerned about the reputation of his firm. I told him about the lack of prep, the instructions on how to do a settlement that I had to provide these guys, the chicken scratch comment from another attorney, the fiasco, etc and said if they expect my end to pay, dream on.
The head of the firm thought it over quickly....an apology and no more bills.
You have the right to switch lawyers. What you might owe the current lawyer would depend upon your contract.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JanND
By your estimation a person cannot fire their attorney without having to prepare to defend themselves? That is ludicrous.....attorneys are hired and fired just like any other business professional that you hire.....If they aren't doing their due diligence.
I disagree. A lawyer is much more likely to sue to recover damages if they feel that they have a case.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JanND
OP.....The most that might happen imo would be he would send the bill to a collections company for collection of an unpaid bill. But, if she fires him before the processes happen that would allow him to charge the remaining 1300....He can't collect for work not done.
You can't really say that without reading their contract. I have no idea what their contract says either.
You have the right to switch lawyers. What you might owe the current lawyer would depend upon your contract.
I disagree. A lawyer is much more likely to sue to recover damages if they feel that they have a case.
You can't really say that without reading their contract. I have no idea what their contract says either.
I used the wording "if" and other qualifiers because I, like everyone else is responding to a vague scenario.
But, Lawyers are hired and fired.....
A Lawyer's damages would only be what is owed according to their retainer agreement. That would be a billing issue, not a lawsuit issue. You cannot collect what is not owed.
It's not necessarily about "right."
I am the customer.
If I'm not happy or comfortable with the service I'm receiving,I would think I have the prerogative to switch lawyers?
I see.
If you just wanted to know if a real estate lawyer could be fired in your state, and NOT discuss your actual situation with anyone, wouldn't it have been easier for you to just Google it? You could have had your answer in a few minutes.
If you just wanted to know if a real estate lawyer could be fired in your state, and NOT discuss your actual situation with anyone, wouldn't it have been easier for you to just Google it? You could have had your answer in a few minutes.
Of course I can and will do that.
I thought a chat room is to share experiences and see if others have had similar experiences with advice to share
It's not necessarily about "right."
I am the customer.
If I'm not happy or comfortable with the service I'm receiving,I would think I have the prerogative to switch lawyers?
[ianal] i think you can change lawyers if you want but depending on the legal document you signed you mite have to pay a penalty to switch especially if the current lawyer did nothing wrong (as in violate any section of the contract).
if the lawyer wore a purple shirt on tuesday; unless its specifically stated in the contract, i doubt you can fire him without going into default clause of the contract simply because you hate purple and/or tuesdays.
if the lawyers actions or in-actions are causing you harm, he may need to compensate you to make you whole.
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