MY LAWYER IS DOING NOTHING WITH MY CASE?

[ned]

I have a malpractice case, it happened three years ago,my lawyer has yet to do the depositions, does not return phone calls or emails, has one excuse after the other, as to why the depositions keep getting cancelled. The latest is that he has asked another firm to help, I find this a little ironic being that I had called this same firm, to ask if they do malpractice cases, they asked who my lawyer was, I told them, they said I should be happy that my lawyer is representing me, and that he was a good friend, I was only trying to find out if I had any other options. A doctor who is very close to the case feels as though I should move on away from my current lawyer, she does not believe, that all of his excuses, hold very much truth any more, then I got an email 2 weeks ago, that this other law firm was going to help in my case, I find that a little funny given the facts plus now again I have not heard any thing since that email from my lawyer.

[norwyn]

The legal community has a lot of good lawyers and almost an equal number of crappy ones. Every state has a wonder attorney disciplinary committee that hears complaints from consumers (such as yourself) and decides what, if any, action needs to be done. Attorneys are required to follow certain ethical rules (one being communication with the client, the lack thereof is the most common complaint) and can actually lose their license for failure to do so. Some states even allow the public to search the disciplinary actions taken tagainst attorneys/judges. Arkansas's site is http://courts.arkansas.gov/professional_conduct/index.cfm.

That is all fine and dandy, but you have a real problem. I'm assuming that since depositions have been scheduled that the case has actually been filed in court (which is great since most statutes of limitations for malpractice are 3 years or less). Here's what I suggest- call your attorney and tell them that you will be at their office on Friday and expect a full copy of your casefile and that, if necessary, you will be happy to pay for reasonable copy charges. Print off any copies of emails that you have sent (especially those that are unanswered) to the attorney. Look him up to see if he has a history of complaints (not all are viewable by the public). Then, call around to see if it is too late for you to switch attorneys. If the statute of limitations did lapse, file a malpractice suit against your attorney (yes, you can do this, and you are entitled to recover what you would have recovered from the original suit) and file a complaint with your state.

Something that clients often forget is that YOU hire the attorney- the attorney is your employee and you are entitled to fire them for ANY reason WHENEVER you want to (though in some cases courts will award a "fee for the reasonable amount of work done on your case). Remember, you are in control. Talk to your attorney and let him/her know that you are seriously considering switching attorneys and that you are going to file a complaint if things do not change in 2 weeks (make sure you pick up your case file and THEN tell them this). Then, stick to it! No attorney dislikes anything more than getting an ethics complaint/law suit. I hope everything works out for you!

[camdin90]

Find a different lawyer
I dealt with the same sh*t and they dont get any better over time

[ji]

They just care for money.