In 2001, I went to a Chicago Law Firm where I met with the partner and an employee attorney, concerning a legal issue with a stockbroker and CPA in Wisconsin.
I was concerned because of retirement money that was improperly advised and not correctly invested in the appropriate kinds of investments. I also was instructed by these people to form a corporation to save on taxes that I never truly needed which, in fact, caused me more expenses/etc. by doing so. Additionally, continual unnecessary churning was fast depleting the assets in my accounts.
After discussions with the attorneys at this law firm, it was suggested by them I had several cases to pursue and to begin with arbitration against the stockbroker. Then after that case was resolved we would file a lawsuit against the CPA. The law firm required a $5,000.00 retainer and the remainder would be on a contingency fee upon settlement of the securities case.
Numerous times I told the partner and the employee lawyer I wanted to go to arbitration and they suggested mediation, which I did not have to agree to the decision of the mediators and could go through with securities arbitration. Although after the mediation began the partner kept insisting on settling in mediation and I always said no as the amount was not anywhere near what I lost due to these people. The partner got extremely angry with me when I said "I have been the victim and I want to go to arbitration – I believe I will win a fair and just judgment – but if I do not then you will not either in regards to the legal fees". The partner always said "we will make up the money difference you did not receive in the securities case when we handle the case against the CPA and restore you and your financial position to where it should be including the legal fees you incur throughout both of these cases". He also gave me numerous papers showing arbitration cases and awards, which meant absolutely nothing to me, and I still wanted to go to arbitration. Then he coerced me into settlement by saying "you know we can fire you just as easily as you can fire us" leaving me fearful with the impression the case was so time sensitively involved I would never be able to find another law firm to accept the case or if I would receive all of the information and documentation that was prepared throughout this ordeal by this law firm and the expert witness. He lastly said he would give me a large discount from the contingency fee if I settled in mediation but he would not tell me the amount until I signed the settlement papers. Then after it was done, he said the amount of the discount was $2,250.00 and I was getting such a good deal because of the time they had invested in the case. Everyone then signed off on the case and the funds were disbursed to all. He always disregarded my instructions of wanting arbitration and after the settlement when I insisted on an explanation, which he repeatedly said, "let's not go down that road again".
After the securities case settlement, we began a case against my former CPA. After a considerable amount of time and money paid to law firm for this CPA case, $31.937.21 (approximately) by myself (as they would only take this case on a pay-as-you-go arrangement-no contingency %), the employee lawyer informed me he was leaving this law firm for various reasons (some things they did not agree on/etc.) and the partner told him he was not interested in continuing in representing me in the CPA case anymore. He told the employee lawyer to have me terminate him, which I did even though I told the employee lawyer I did not think I should but rather the law firm/partner should terminate/resign from me since he was the one who did not want to continue my case. The employee lawyer told me to just fax the partner my termination as the partner wanted and then I would hire him to continue the case. The partner would hold all of my files until I paid the balance of $8,422.61, which I did on September 9, 2004. Then the partner still only released a portion of my files and was holding a letter that was time sensitive to my CPA case and caused me to miss out on an appeal of a judge's dismissal of two of five counts, which were vital to me as they contained the recovery of attorney fees in this case.
The partner is still holding most of my files "hostage" which I believe is jeopardizing my present CPA lawsuit and is now demanding his "discount of $2,250.00" returned from the stock/securities abuse case (which was settled a over a year ago) and said it was an error even though the contract we signed gave him 1/3 of the settlement received and that is what he got. The "discount" would have given him more than 1/3 of the settlement fees. I have asked the employee lawyer (now my present lawyer) numerous times what to do and he really doesn't seem to want to give me a definite answer and only hinted I should do nothing and see what happens. I feel this lawyer knows things were not handled properly but still feels some kind of loyalty to his previous employer or has hesitation because he must deal with other Chicago lawyers and possibly this law firm in the future. I have told my lawyer many times I never should have terminated the previous law firm but should have allowed him to terminate me since I had spent quite a large amount of money in legal fees with them(approximately $90,000 in total) and he also does not want to say anything either way about this. Actually, I do not believe the previous law firm is entitled to the $31.937.21 fees for the CPA case, since he told his employee lawyer he was not interested in continuing representing me. He also instructed this lawyer to have me terminate him, which I think was not appropriate or ethical since the partner was the one who wanted to terminate the attorney-client relationship.
I am afraid to push the issues regarding the "termination" and "discount" with my present lawyer as he might terminate me in the CPA case and again I have paid in additional money in legal fees approximating another $15,000 - $20,000 to this lawyer's new firm and there is still a lot of work to go as well as expert witness fees and Wisconsin attorneys as the CPA resides in Wisconsin. I would have a difficult time trying to locate a lawyer/firm to accept this case at this point in time.
Already I believe that the previous partner's claim that we will make up in this CPA case what we fell short of getting in the securities case is not true. I will be lucky if I can recoup an amount equal to the legal fees I have paid out. When the partner originally made that comment to me, he had no idea how much money could be gotten in the CPA case under Wisconsin law and his failing to timely inform me of the judge's ruling which caused me to lose the right to appeal, nixed any opportunity to try to get legal fees reimbursed. I am not a CPA nor accountant so I was totally in the dark as to any amount of damages. I could only trust what they told me.
I do not work due to medical conditions (past and present) and the money that was taken from me, by the securities broker and CPA and now the legal profession, was my life savings and retirement fund. I have been selling personal possessions and borrowing money from friends and family to sustain the current legal fees associated with the CPA case and now am told I probably will not receive attorney fees as part of the settlement which I was told I would before. I have no real idea of where the CPA case is at this time and when it will be offering any type/form of settlement, going to trial, final settlement and when to expect it will be completed.
I do not know where to turn or what to do for help and direction or guidance. I fear that filing this or any other complaints or grievances might irreversibly damage my relationship with my present lawyer and/or make more complications for me.
I have always tried to do the right thing and trusted people who were "professionals" in their respective fields of expertise but now have learned this is not the truth or case. Ethics are not followed or ignored and are difficult to prove they were violated. How can I expect to receive justice, which I always believed was one of my rights?
I am still a resident of Wisconsin and worked briefly as a Realtor in Chicago. But after the securities case ended and the CPA case began I went to Dallas, Texas. I was a passenger in a hit & run/uninsured motorist accident and have been mostly in Dallas trying to resolve it with the insurance company.
The stress, anxiety, depression, physical pains and mental anguish are unbelievable and nobody wants to help, guide or discuss anything for fear they will become involved/entangled in the entire mess.
I do not believe I owe the previous partner/law firm a refund on his discount as he already received 1/3 of the settlement proceeds as per our original signed contract and would like to have all of my files returned to me. I also believe the partner's demand for me to terminate the relationship and legal fees I paid him for the CPA case needs to be investigated further and repaid to me.
Sincerely,
Wiiltx
P.S. I filed a complaint with the Chicago State Bar and the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois. Their decision was "the attorney claims he never accepted the CPA Malpractice case" and that is the end of it. How can this be when he invoiced me on his letterhead as "Accounting Malpractice" and I paid his law firm directly?
I was concerned because of retirement money that was improperly advised and not correctly invested in the appropriate kinds of investments. I also was instructed by these people to form a corporation to save on taxes that I never truly needed which, in fact, caused me more expenses/etc. by doing so. Additionally, continual unnecessary churning was fast depleting the assets in my accounts.
After discussions with the attorneys at this law firm, it was suggested by them I had several cases to pursue and to begin with arbitration against the stockbroker. Then after that case was resolved we would file a lawsuit against the CPA. The law firm required a $5,000.00 retainer and the remainder would be on a contingency fee upon settlement of the securities case.
Numerous times I told the partner and the employee lawyer I wanted to go to arbitration and they suggested mediation, which I did not have to agree to the decision of the mediators and could go through with securities arbitration. Although after the mediation began the partner kept insisting on settling in mediation and I always said no as the amount was not anywhere near what I lost due to these people. The partner got extremely angry with me when I said "I have been the victim and I want to go to arbitration – I believe I will win a fair and just judgment – but if I do not then you will not either in regards to the legal fees". The partner always said "we will make up the money difference you did not receive in the securities case when we handle the case against the CPA and restore you and your financial position to where it should be including the legal fees you incur throughout both of these cases". He also gave me numerous papers showing arbitration cases and awards, which meant absolutely nothing to me, and I still wanted to go to arbitration. Then he coerced me into settlement by saying "you know we can fire you just as easily as you can fire us" leaving me fearful with the impression the case was so time sensitively involved I would never be able to find another law firm to accept the case or if I would receive all of the information and documentation that was prepared throughout this ordeal by this law firm and the expert witness. He lastly said he would give me a large discount from the contingency fee if I settled in mediation but he would not tell me the amount until I signed the settlement papers. Then after it was done, he said the amount of the discount was $2,250.00 and I was getting such a good deal because of the time they had invested in the case. Everyone then signed off on the case and the funds were disbursed to all. He always disregarded my instructions of wanting arbitration and after the settlement when I insisted on an explanation, which he repeatedly said, "let's not go down that road again".
After the securities case settlement, we began a case against my former CPA. After a considerable amount of time and money paid to law firm for this CPA case, $31.937.21 (approximately) by myself (as they would only take this case on a pay-as-you-go arrangement-no contingency %), the employee lawyer informed me he was leaving this law firm for various reasons (some things they did not agree on/etc.) and the partner told him he was not interested in continuing in representing me in the CPA case anymore. He told the employee lawyer to have me terminate him, which I did even though I told the employee lawyer I did not think I should but rather the law firm/partner should terminate/resign from me since he was the one who did not want to continue my case. The employee lawyer told me to just fax the partner my termination as the partner wanted and then I would hire him to continue the case. The partner would hold all of my files until I paid the balance of $8,422.61, which I did on September 9, 2004. Then the partner still only released a portion of my files and was holding a letter that was time sensitive to my CPA case and caused me to miss out on an appeal of a judge's dismissal of two of five counts, which were vital to me as they contained the recovery of attorney fees in this case.
The partner is still holding most of my files "hostage" which I believe is jeopardizing my present CPA lawsuit and is now demanding his "discount of $2,250.00" returned from the stock/securities abuse case (which was settled a over a year ago) and said it was an error even though the contract we signed gave him 1/3 of the settlement received and that is what he got. The "discount" would have given him more than 1/3 of the settlement fees. I have asked the employee lawyer (now my present lawyer) numerous times what to do and he really doesn't seem to want to give me a definite answer and only hinted I should do nothing and see what happens. I feel this lawyer knows things were not handled properly but still feels some kind of loyalty to his previous employer or has hesitation because he must deal with other Chicago lawyers and possibly this law firm in the future. I have told my lawyer many times I never should have terminated the previous law firm but should have allowed him to terminate me since I had spent quite a large amount of money in legal fees with them(approximately $90,000 in total) and he also does not want to say anything either way about this. Actually, I do not believe the previous law firm is entitled to the $31.937.21 fees for the CPA case, since he told his employee lawyer he was not interested in continuing representing me. He also instructed this lawyer to have me terminate him, which I think was not appropriate or ethical since the partner was the one who wanted to terminate the attorney-client relationship.
I am afraid to push the issues regarding the "termination" and "discount" with my present lawyer as he might terminate me in the CPA case and again I have paid in additional money in legal fees approximating another $15,000 - $20,000 to this lawyer's new firm and there is still a lot of work to go as well as expert witness fees and Wisconsin attorneys as the CPA resides in Wisconsin. I would have a difficult time trying to locate a lawyer/firm to accept this case at this point in time.
Already I believe that the previous partner's claim that we will make up in this CPA case what we fell short of getting in the securities case is not true. I will be lucky if I can recoup an amount equal to the legal fees I have paid out. When the partner originally made that comment to me, he had no idea how much money could be gotten in the CPA case under Wisconsin law and his failing to timely inform me of the judge's ruling which caused me to lose the right to appeal, nixed any opportunity to try to get legal fees reimbursed. I am not a CPA nor accountant so I was totally in the dark as to any amount of damages. I could only trust what they told me.
I do not work due to medical conditions (past and present) and the money that was taken from me, by the securities broker and CPA and now the legal profession, was my life savings and retirement fund. I have been selling personal possessions and borrowing money from friends and family to sustain the current legal fees associated with the CPA case and now am told I probably will not receive attorney fees as part of the settlement which I was told I would before. I have no real idea of where the CPA case is at this time and when it will be offering any type/form of settlement, going to trial, final settlement and when to expect it will be completed.
I do not know where to turn or what to do for help and direction or guidance. I fear that filing this or any other complaints or grievances might irreversibly damage my relationship with my present lawyer and/or make more complications for me.
I have always tried to do the right thing and trusted people who were "professionals" in their respective fields of expertise but now have learned this is not the truth or case. Ethics are not followed or ignored and are difficult to prove they were violated. How can I expect to receive justice, which I always believed was one of my rights?
I am still a resident of Wisconsin and worked briefly as a Realtor in Chicago. But after the securities case ended and the CPA case began I went to Dallas, Texas. I was a passenger in a hit & run/uninsured motorist accident and have been mostly in Dallas trying to resolve it with the insurance company.
The stress, anxiety, depression, physical pains and mental anguish are unbelievable and nobody wants to help, guide or discuss anything for fear they will become involved/entangled in the entire mess.
I do not believe I owe the previous partner/law firm a refund on his discount as he already received 1/3 of the settlement proceeds as per our original signed contract and would like to have all of my files returned to me. I also believe the partner's demand for me to terminate the relationship and legal fees I paid him for the CPA case needs to be investigated further and repaid to me.
Sincerely,
Wiiltx
P.S. I filed a complaint with the Chicago State Bar and the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois. Their decision was "the attorney claims he never accepted the CPA Malpractice case" and that is the end of it. How can this be when he invoiced me on his letterhead as "Accounting Malpractice" and I paid his law firm directly?
