When you can’t get in touch with your lawyer, it’s difficult to know when to be patient and when to take action. In fact, poor communication is one of the most common complaints filed with state bar associations. Unfortunately, there is no clear and easy solution to the problem.
Correspondence: What Are My Lawyer’s Duties to Me?
Lawyers handle many cases at a time, and the speed of replies isn’t always an indicator of a lawyer’s skill. In general, your lawyers should provide you with an explanation and overview or your legal problem, obstacles you will likely face, how he will handle your case and the timeline of his actions. Clients often feel neglected if their lawyers fail to do any of the above.
What Can I Do If My Lawyer Doesn’t Return My Calls?
- Send a formal letter. If your lawyer fails to return several phone calls, send a courteous yet firm letter. Don’t threaten malpractice yet – this will only aggravate the situation. Instead, state politely and concisely that you’ve been trying to contact him and would like a response to your questions. With this letter, you are establishing a record of your communication attempts – which you may need if you decide to pursue a legal malpractice case.
- Seek mediation. Before your fire your attorney, consider hiring a third party to mediate your problems. This is often quicker, easier and less costly than finding a new attorney.
- Fire your attorney. If communication and mediation fails, it may be time to find a new attorney. Beware – you may still be billed by your current attorney for past work.
- File a complaint. Your lawyer may be guilty of abandoning a client, an ethical violation decided by the state bar association. Unfortunately, filing a complaint is a time consuming process and may not help your current case.
- Consider pursuing a legal malpractice case.
Pursuing Legal Malpractice
The longer your attorney goes without corresponding with you, the more likely you are to have a legal malpractice case. Failing to return your phone calls doesn’t necessarily make your lawyer guilty of malpractice.
In order to prove malpractice, you must show your attorney made mistakes that no reasonable lawyer would make, and those mistakes affected the outcome of your case and caused you financial loss. If you think you may be a victim of legal malpractice, read Meehan Law Firm’s guide to malpractice cases and consult Meehan Law Firm’s legal malpractice team for a free consultation.
Sources:
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/expectations-for-lawyer-attorney-29876.html
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/problems-with-lawyer-tips-strategies-29925.html
http://public.findlaw.com/library/hiring-lawyer/lawyer-malpractice-basics-faq.html
http://legal-malpractice.lawyers.com/Legal-Malpractice-FAQ.html#7
http://public.findlaw.com/litigation_appeals/when-mad-at-lawyer.html