HELP! What should I do about this lawyer?!?

[LilGirl]

OK so here is the deal...

I hired a lawyer to represent me through my settlement conference in my divorce. The lawyer agreed to a price, which I paid half of up front and he stated he would mail me a retainer agreement to sign and return to him. Unfortunately, after sending him several reminders, he never did send me the retainer agreement.

The settlement conference was rather simple and consisted of only three appearances. The first appearance my lawyer was at least an hour late, which forced us to wait. That day he filed an appearance and adjournment, that was it. The second appearance was to discuss a settlement, which was agreed to, however, my lawyer stated we could not finalize anything that day and would have to return in one month. This was followed by a few more adjournments, then the final conference in which our settlement was placed on record and the divorce was finalized.

Throughout this time I had sent my lawyer four reminders about the retainer agreement, which still to this day was never sent to me. On our last day of court he gave me an invoice, which was not in the amount we previously agreed to. Unfortunately I was not aware of this fact until afterward.

I did contact this lawyer numerous times regarding my issues with his invoice, but I was met with nothing but threats. He first threatened to re-bill making the amount higher. Then he claimed he was going to file a lien against my settlement funds, however he never did. He also threatened me with various law suits from suing for "defamation of character" to taking me to circuit court rather than small claims. His reasoning for this was because it would tie up my funds even longer, which seems to be his main concern aside from getting his money.

On a side note, I would also like to add that this lawyer was extremely rude to me throughout this entire time. When I first hired him he was somewhat pleasant, however, he made me feel uncomfortable on several occasions due to his flirting. He also had a habit of making rude comments concerning the way I looked, the way I spoke and upon asking him a question about my judgment, he commented about my having ADD due to the fact that I overlooked something in my fifteen page judgment. Also, a vast majority of his comments were in front of a third person and this same person was present when his legal fees were discussed in the beginning. I also have all his 'threats' printed off as they were sent via email as I stopped taking his phone calls sometime ago due to his being so incredibly rude.

There is a lot more I could add as I've found out he has lied about numerous things in these past few weeks, however, I am more concerned about the fees and his behavior at this time because it has my settlement funds tied up, which I desperately need to pay overdue bills.

So here are my questions...

First, can this lawyer legally take whatever amount he wants from my settlement? If so, is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening?

Second, would his behavior with the rude comments and threats be considered a violation of ethics?

Lastly, is there anything I can do about this whole situation as I've also recently found out that he has done this to someone else during the same time frame he was pulling this BS on me?

I am filing a grievance against this lawyer, but any input would be greatly appreciated because I really need to know what to do and if this would be considered a violation of ethics.

Thanks in advance to those who reply!

LilGirl

 

[dee_dub]

First, can this lawyer legally take whatever amount he wants from my settlement? If so, is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening?

Nope. Tell him if you can't agree on a fee, you'll have his bill taxed or whatever term you use in your jurisdiction - this is where you take it to an officer of the court and they decide what's fair.

Second, would his behavior with the rude comments and threats be considered a violation of ethics?

Doubtful. Lawyers often write off part of their fees and use that as a tactic to elicit payment - "pay this or I'll hit you with the full bill". It's not a threat so much as a bargaining tool. Rude comments and flirting - depends what he said. Cracking wise about ADD is insensitive but not a breach of ethics.

Lastly, is there anything I can do about this whole situation as I've also recently found out that he has done this to someone else during the same time frame he was pulling this BS on me?

You can encourage the other person to complain as well. I am sceptical that anything will come of it, but the licensing boards look more closely at serial offenders.

 

[jharris352]

This lawyer may try to put a lien on your settlement but he will have to come to court to validate that lien and a judge won't be in a very good mood when an attorney wants to charge fees that weren't in writing. In fact, as an attorney, I would loathe the idea of showing up without a retainer agreement in front of a Judge. Don't let him bully you.

File a bar complaint, get your friend to file a bar complaint. NOTHING will really come out of it, (they aren't going to even write him a letter of reprimand) but the complaint will make him shape up his behavior toward you two.

Next time someone you are paying is rude to you, Stand up to them. I had a lawyer cuss me once; I smiled and fired him.

 

[LilGirl]

Nope. Tell him if you can't agree on a fee, you'll have his bill taxed or whatever term you use in your jurisdiction - this is where you take it to an officer of the court and they decide what's fair.

I tried to settle the issue amicably, however, he outright said he would not under any circumstances negotiate. All I could find regarding assistance in that area was through our state bar, which he and I would have to agree to. Obviously he will not agree to it.

Doubtful. Lawyers often write off part of their fees and use that as a tactic to elicit payment - "pay this or I'll hit you with the full bill". It's not a threat so much as a bargaining tool. Rude comments and flirting - depends what he said. Cracking wise about ADD is insensitive but not a breach of ethics.

The rude comments I'm looking past at this time because I'm more focused now on the fact that he is holding my settlement for ransom just to be spiteful. As for his threat of re-billing me to make the bill higher, he has also threaten to sue me for defamation of character. He has threatened to take me to circuit court rather than small claims to "ensure my funds will be tied up" and that I be forced to pay for his time there as well as court costs. In total there have been seven threats which vary from the above but all include a statement of tying up my funds.

You can encourage the other person to complain as well. I am sceptical that anything will come of it, but the licensing boards look more closely at serial offenders.

I have no way of contacting the other person or I would in a heartbeat. At this point it has been since October 15, 2009 since I last heard from him. At that time he was supposed to be send me a packet of information, which he never did. So now he has not only threaten me numerous times, he has abandoned his duties and refused to supply me with requested information.

But thank you for your reply and my deepest apologies for taking so long to reply!

LilGirl

 

[LilGirl]

This lawyer may try to put a lien on your settlement but he will have to come to court to validate that lien and a judge won't be in a very good mood when an attorney wants to charge fees that weren't in writing. In fact, as an attorney, I would loathe the idea of showing up without a retainer agreement in front of a Judge. Don't let him bully you.

After he mentioned the lien for the umpteenth time and threatened me for the seventh time, I finally bit back and told him I had never refused to pay the amount he lied and stated I owed. I pointed out I have never been rude, disrespectful or threatening in anyway, but that I was tired of his constant threats and disrespect which was unnecessary. At that point I told him that if he did threaten me one more time I would file a formal complaint with the state bar. His reply was that he didn't care. I received maybe one or two more emails from him after that, however, he has refused any contact since October 15, 2009 and has also refused to supply me with any information whatsoever. He claims he did send an "Attorney Lien Letter" to the 401k administrator, which he has also refused to send me and I see nothing on the docket which indicates in went to court for it. **As a side note, all of this was via email, all of which I have printed off**

File a bar complaint, get your friend to file a bar complaint. NOTHING will really come out of it, (they aren't going to even write him a letter of reprimand) but the complaint will make him shape up his behavior toward you two.

I plan on filing a complaint, I've just been letting this go on to see what else I have to add to it at this point. As for the friend, the only person I could have file a complaint would be my ex-husband, who went from wanting to help me to not replying to me also. For the most part I've just been hung out to dry with my hands tied.

Next time someone you are paying is rude to you, Stand up to them. I had a lawyer cuss me once; I smiled and fired him.

From now on I will. I didn't at the time because I thought it would reflect badly on me in court. If I had known then what I know now though, I would have broke my foot off in his arse. LOL!

But thank you a great deal for taking the time to reply because I really do appreciate it and my deepest apologies for taking so long in responding!

LilGirl

 

[sharkhater]

Dont lawyer haveto do as you ask them.

Did you get any resolution? Also from MI and have spoken to many women whose lawyers have taken them for another ride. It's time we all got together and outed them. Fear, as usual, is what keeps us quiet. Mine refuses to have my support checks sent directly to me after a LONG case that he botched so badly and still refuses to get my rich husband to pay. When I eventually get hubby to pay, he sends a minimal amount to my lawyer and then the lawyer wants to keep it and a fight ensues as I starve. Doesn't he have to obey my instructions to to send a letter to opposing counsel and have the checks sent to me, made out to me, to my address? Over the past year he continued to say, "don't YOU worry about the money, we will get the judge to make him pay our bills". FRUSTRATING!!!!!