Can You Fire Your Lawyer

Q: Can you fire your lawyer?
You're the boss. If at any time you're unhappy with your lawyer's services, you can fire your lawyer. You can fire a lawyer regardless of your fee agreement and even if your case is pending in court. Your attorney is entitled to payment for services rendered up to the time of dismissal, in accordance with your fee agreement. Also, under some circumstances, the fired lawyer may be entitled to his contingency fee interest.

Be aware that firing a lawyer after a suit has been filed usually requires the court's permission. If the case is close to trial, the court may be reluctant to grant permission for dismissal if it will delay the proceedings --unless the court finds you have good cause under the circumstances to discharge your attorney.

Q: What if your lawyer isn't answering your phone calls?
Ignoring phone calls is rude and unprofessional. Besides, your attorney is obligated to communicate with you and keep you advised of the progress of your case. The frequency of that communication and the form it takes will vary according to your case.

Before you decide that your attorney isn't communicating adequately with you, ask yourself if your expectations are reasonable. Regular phone calls are generally unnecessary if your attorney has no news to report, unless you have new or additional information to share with the attorney. Remember, an attorney represents many clients simultaneously, and must allocate his / her time to keep legal costs down without compromising work quality.

If you have information or questions for your attorney, it's a good idea to write or email a short letter and request a response in kind. Still no answer? Follow up with a phone call. If your lawyer fails to respond and continues to neglect your reasonable requests for information, it could be time for you to fire him. At that point you might also want to contact the appropriate lawyer disciplinary authorities (State Bar Grievance Committee).

Don't let things go for an unreasonable period of time. The persistent refusal of an attorney to respond to your communications over a significant period of time suggests something is wrong. You may need another attorney to move forward with your matter.

Q: What should you do if you think your lawyer has overcharged you?
Review your fee agreement and the bills your attorney has sent you. All charges should be consistent with your agreement. If you have questions about particular charges, ask your lawyer. Frequently, charges make more sense after a brief explanation.

If you can't resolve your questions regarding fees and charges with your lawyer you may want to have your bill reviewed by another attorney who can evaluate it. The State Bar also offers a fee dispute resolution process for clients.

Finally, nothing stops you from hiring another lawyer to resolve the matter, possibly through additional litigation.

Q: What should you do if you think your lawyer has acted unethically?
Lawyers who have acted unethically face a variety of sanctions -- from censure and suspension, to disbarment from legal practice. If you feel that your lawyer has acted improperly or unethically, contact the Lawyer Disciplinary Agency (State Bar of Texas Grievance Cmmittee) and file a complaint.

Keep in mind that if your attorney used your money in an unethical way, a disciplinary action will not get you your money back. These proceedings punish unethical lawyers but do not necessarily provide a financial remedy to a wronged client.

By law, ethical proceedings to discipline lawyers and civil proceedings to recover damages are two separate and mutually exclusive processes. You hire a lawyer to sue another lawyer when you are pursuing a financial recovery. You contact the State Bar to prosecute unethical conduct; although you may, if you wish, be represented by a lawyer in this process.

Q: What if you lost a case that your lost said was a winner?
Be wary of an attorney who says that a case can't be lost. Smart, experienced, honest lawyers know better. No lawsuit is a sure winner for either side. Remember that your attorney is required to be competent, loyal, honest, and to represent you zealously within the boundaries of the law. Meeting all these standards, he or she still might lose. Even great lawyers lose cases.

However, it is possible your attorney lost or bungled your case because he or she failed to satisfy or follow the procedures or laws that applied in that particular action. In an extreme case, you may have a legitimate malpractice claim. At this point the last thing you might wish to do is hire another attorney. However, you'll need a lawyer to bring a malpractice case against another lawyer.