Aug 17, 2015 · As a civil litigation attorney with 25 years of experience, do not proceed any further in a case of this nature without an attorney unless you want to lose. I know this is not the answer you are looking for, but it is the correct answer. Law Offices of Andrew D. Myers, North Andover, MA & Derry, NH provide answers for informational purposes only.
Mar 19, 2012 · What you can do when your lawyer behaves badly. First, get informed: Look to the right of this post and roll down to the Sites of Interest section. You’ll see a link to NYS Unified Court System. Click on it. Now you’re on the Court System home page. To the right, there is a columnar list of sub-sites.
Mar 07, 2014 · If they fail to respond to a properly served complaint and you can show the court that service was accomplished then the defendant should be defaulted. Depending on the jurisdiction and type of case you still may be required to present evidence of your damages in order to get a default judgment.
Aug 11, 2021 · Yes, your personal injury lawyer has an obligation to keep their client’s information private and confidential unless the client gives them permission to disclose the information in question. Communications between you and your attorney are supposed to be confidential as well and not revealed without the client’s permission.
This is for information only without a meaningful history no lawyer can give adequate advice. So--say you have posed a theoretical--here are my thoughts: This does not state what party you are. It is difficult to answer this without more. For example: A lawyer needs to know who you are suing and cannot take a case against his/her own client.
It is not uncommon for defendants in civil lawsuits to deny many or most of the allegations in the complaint. The rules require that answers and all pleadings be made in good faith. But, their basis may be in the language used in the allegations. Trials are not "automatic" what happens next is the discovery phase.
Make sure to consult with a lawyer. Many times it's free. If you're a business owner, check to see if your insurance would protect you and hire a lawyer for you.
Without seeing the Complaint, it is impossible to say whether particular allegations can be denied. As for the signature, oftentimes handwriting experts disagree on the authenticity of a signature. It is not a "hard" science. In general, once all answers are filed, the case proceeds to discovery before trial.
Once the answer is filed, the court will likely schedule a date for the attorneys and parties to get together, schedule other dates, and begin the discovery process. There will also likely be discussions about potential settlement agreements as the case proceeds.
If they fail to respond to a properly served complaint and you can show the court that service was accomplished then the defendant should be defaulted. Depending on the jurisdiction and type of case you still may be required to present evidence of your damages in order to get a default judgment. If the defendant is out of state, they may be deliberately ignoring the complaint having decided to fight a...
It is not unusual for a default to be entered, but also not unusual for a default to be later vacated and an opportunity...
You request the entry of a default, and then depending on the type of cases, a default judgment on paper proofs, where the court enters a specific amount without a hearing, or at a proof hearing, where the Judge hears brief testimony before determining the amount of the Judgment.
Good Morning,#N#If service was made by mail, it sounds like this is a special civil case. In the Special Civil Part, the Clerk of the Court normally enters default automatically, without it having been requested by the Plaintiff (although there's nothing wrong with...
A knowledgeable legal malpractice attorney can review the circumstances of a case and attempt to communicate with your unresponsive lawyer. The malpractice attorney can then guide you through the legal process and work to get your compensation.
According to The American Bar Association (ABA) model rules of professional conduct related to communication, lawyers must: · Inform clients of decisions and circumstance related to their case. · Consult with clients about how they will accomplish their legal goals. · Respond to client requests for information.
There is no such limitation as to the defendant. As soon as the defendant receives the complaint, he can serve you with discovery, and even though he has not appeared in the action, he can serve that discovery by mail because the plaintiff has appeared. Look it up and stop objecting.
Our court rules require that notice of an ex parte hearing be given no later than 10:00 a.m. the day before the hearing. Sometimes, if I have something going on the next day, I will fax and email the notice before I go home the night before. If I’m working late, that notice might go out at six or seven o’clock.
In most states, you can file your complaint by mailing in a state-issued complaint form or a letter with the lawyer's name and contact information, your contact information, a description of the problem, and copies of relevant documents. In some states, you may be able to lodge your complaint over the phone or online.
When a client fires a lawyer and asks for the file, the lawyer must promptly return it. In some states, such as California, the lawyer must return the file even if attorneys’ fees haven’t been paid in full. Lawyer incompetence. Lawyers must have the knowledge and experience to competently handle any case that they take on.
In most cases, a board of lawyers and non-lawyers will review the complaint. If there’s a potential ethical violation, the board will give the lawyer a copy of the complaint and an opportunity to respond.
Lawyers are human, and like everyone else, they sometimes make mistakes when representing clients. In some cases, the mistakes are small and easily fixable—for example, not filing enough copies of a document with the court or needing to reschedule a meeting. Other times, the mistakes are serious—such as missing the deadline to file a lawsuit, ...
Lawyers are given a lot of responsibility and often deal with serious matters, from criminal charges to child custody to tax and other financial matters. When you hire a lawyer, you are trusting him or her to represent your interests in the best manner possible.
The American Bar Association publishes the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which lists standard ethical violations and best practices for lawyers. Some states have adopted the model rules as their own ethical rules, while others use it as a guide and modify or add rules.
Lawyers have a duty to keep their clients reasonably informed about the status of their cases, to respond promptly to requests for information, and to consult with their clients about important decisions in their cases (for example, whether to accept a settlement offer). Not returning the client's documents.
If you are not the client in question but are following up for a friend or a relative, the lawyer doesn’t owe any response to you. The lawyer is working for their client and not for their friends, relatives or well-wishers. The lawyer needs to, and in fact, can only speak to the person who signed the contingency fee agreement. These are the rules of attorney-client privilege and it would bode well for you to respect them too.
If your lawyer is taking too long or is not responding to emails, simply chart out your grievances in a concise manner and send a letter to their office. Keep your criticism sharp and to the point, don’t get swayed with emotions. Let the lawyer and their firm know your time is precious too and that you have the capacity to find a different attorney if things don’t work out.
If you don’t trust your lawyer’s judgement, find someone you can be on the same page with. But if you must continue to employ them and still work against their instructions, perhaps your lawyer has decided to take matters in their own hands and is working on the case without your interference.
If the lawyer or their firm’s response is not satisfactory and you are still feeling slighted, simply settle whatever payment is due, pick up your files and move on to finding another lawyer. If you and your lawyer can’t see eye to eye, there’s very little chance that lawyer can win you your case.
It’s possible you have no deadlines coming up immediately and the lawyer has nothing to report back. Personal injury and medical malpractice cases have deadlines but they’re not necessarily set back to back. It could be months before you have to submit anything in court again. Perhaps your lawyer is waiting the interim period out and has nothing to report yet. It’s the lawyer’s job to keep you in the loop. In fact, the American Bar Association says the attorney must keep the client “reasonably informed” about the case. However, your definition of “reasonable” may be different from your lawyer’s.
Barbara is a senior content writer. She has worked with Drugwatcher for over five years. Her expertise is writing about complicated issues for a large audience. From a wide range of sources Barbara selects the latest and most important information and presents it in a clear manner. She focuses on various topics, but women’s health issues dominate her work.
Finally, a legal battle is one that needs to be fought as valiantly as any other. It takes a lot of patience, determination and courage to take a legal battle forward. Your lawyer is your army general. If you cannot rely on your general, half the battle has been lost already.