If your bill has been paid and the lawyer will not return your file, you may wish to file a complaint with the Commission on Lawyer Conduct, the agency set up by the South Carolina Supreme Court to hear complaints against lawyers. You can reach the Commission on Lawyer Conduct at (803) 734-2038. Its address is P.O. Box 12159, Columbia, SC 29211.
Full Answer
If you have any kind of case in South Carolina Family Court, you will be using some of these forms. These forms are courtesy of the South Carolina Judicial Department. They keep a complete, searchable list of forms for all courts here.
A sizable portion of most South Carolina family law practices are enforcing or defending enforcement of family court orders. Other than child support or spousal support orders where support is paid through the court, family court orders are not enforced unless a party to the order seeks enforcement.
Often, there are deadlines by which documents must be filed. Even when there are no fixed deadlines, a lawyer’s delay in filing certain documents can permanently impair a client’s rights. You might wonder why a simple failure to file a document “on time” could destroy your rights.
When filing a lawsuit against your attorney, it is important to seek legal representation immediately. You will need considerable proof of legal malpractice and your attorney can help you gather the necessary proof and build a strong case.
If someone who owes you money files a bankruptcy petition, you will receive a notice requiring you to file a proof of your claim in the bankruptcy court. Even if you have no security interest—a lien or mortgage—in property owned by the debtor, there may be some assets that can be sold to pay part of the debt owed to you. If your lawyer fails to file this claim within the time provided in the notice, you will probably forfeit any amount that you otherwise might have recovered from the bankruptcy estate.
To recover for malpractice, in addition to showing that your lawyer breached a duty owed to you by failing to file, you will also need to convince the court hearing your malpractice case that it was the lawyer’s failure to file—not any failure on your part or weakness in your case—that caused the har m you sustained .
Legal Malpractice. Much of the work lawyers do involves filing various documents. Often, there are deadlines by which documents must be filed. Even when there are no fixed deadlines, a lawyer’s delay in filing certain documents can permanently impair a client’s rights. You might wonder why a simple failure to file a document “on time” could destroy ...
However, some tort claims—notably legal and medical malpractice—have shorter, one-year time limits for filing.
If your lawyer fails to file such a motion, there is no penalty other than the cost and delay of a potentially unnecessary trial. However, if an opposing party files a summary judgment motion against you, your lawyer must file a written response within the time set by court rules or by the trial judge.
Filing in a timely manner may be necessary to protect a person’s interest in a residential or commercial lease. Filing may also be necessary to protect a person’s or entity’s interest in an oil and gas lease, or in the oil and gas beneath a property.
However, your lawyer must file a notice of appeal within 30 days after the judgment is final. Failure to appeal within 30 days terminates your right to appeal, regardless of how strong your case may be.
If the sanction is a fine that is paid to the court (not to the other party) and it can’t be avoided by performing some other act, then the sanction is for criminal contempt because the sanction is punitive and not remedial. C riminal contempt requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
There are numerous things that people can be ordered to do. Some involve payment of money. For example, if someone is ordered to pay child support, alimony, or some lump sum payment in the division of assets, and that person does not make one or more payments on time, that person might have contempt charges brought against them. If someone is given court-ordered visitation, and the custodial parent withholds the child, the custodial parent might be held in contempt. If someone is ordered to list the marital home but refuses to do so, that person could be in contempt. The list of reasons is numerous. The bottom line is that if you are ordered to do something, you better do everything in your power to do it. It is always advisable to hire legal counsel BEFORE you ever end up in court or sign off on an agreement because of the serious ramifications that come with family court orders.
In South Carolina, contempt can take place in two ways – direct contempt or constructive contempt. Direct contempt is acts that take place in the presence of the court. That does not mean that a judge must actually see or hear the person’s conduct or words. Instead, this conduct can take place in the courtroom, ...
If someone is given court-ordered visitation, and the custodial parent withholds the child, the custodial parent might be held in contempt . If someone is ordered to list the marital home but refuses to do so, that person could be in contempt. The list of reasons is numerous.
A contempt action, otherwise known as a Rule to Cause, occurs when someone is alleged to have violated an order such as failing to pay child support. Every case typically ends with a Final Order. Even while the cases are going on, sometimes Temporary Orders are issued. Once someone is ordered to do something, if they don’t do it, ...
Criminal Contempt – The primary purpose is to preserve the family court’s authority and to punish any disobedience of its orders. In other words, the sentence is designed to punish the guilty person and to uphold the power of the court. In the case of criminal contempt, the penalty (such as jail time) can’t be undone by promising not to repeat ...
Unlike direct contempt, construction contempt is acts that take place outside the court’s presence. The difference between direct and constructive contempt is important because it determines how the contempt proceedings must be brought. If the contempt is direct, then there is no requirement that a rule to show cause be based ...
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.
State Disciplinary Boards. Each state has a disciplinary board that enforces state ethics rules for lawyers. The board is usually an arm of the state’s supreme court and has authority to interpret ethics rules, investigate potential violations, conduct evidentiary hearings, and administer attorney discipline.
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.
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. To protect the public—and the integrity of the legal profession—each state has its own code of ethics that lawyers must follow. These are usually called the “rules of professional conduct.”
Lawyer incompetence. Lawyers must have the knowledge and experience to competently handle any case that they take on. They must also be sufficiently prepared to handle matters that come up in your case, from settlement negotiations to trial. Conflicts of interest.
issue a private reprimand (usually a letter sent to the lawyer) issue a public reprimand (usually published in the agency’s official reports and a local legal journal or newspaper ) suspend the lawyer (the lawyer cannot practice law for a specific time) disbar the lawyer (the lawyer loses his or her license to practice law), and/or.
If there's no evidence of a violation, the board will dismiss the case and notify you. If the violation is minor, a phone call or letter to the lawyer usually ends the matter.
South Carolina code authorizes the following sanctions for a contempt of family court order: An adult who willfully violates, neglects, or refuses to obey or perform a lawful order of the court may be proceeded against for contempt of court.
Because civil contempt of family court orders carry serious sanctions, there are numerous procedural protections afforded a party who has allegedly violated a contempt order. Punishment for contempt of court in family court result from a willful disobedience of a court order.
Compensatory contempt seeks to reimburse the party for the costs it incurs in forcing the non complying party to obey the court’s orders.
The method of enforcement is called a rule to show cause and the mechanism to enforce is called contempt. Contempt basically employs the police powers of the state to the benefit of private individuals. Punishment for Contempt of Court in Family Court.
The supporting affidavit or verified petition shall identify the court order, decree or judgment which the responding party has allegedly violated, the specific act (s) or omission (s) which constitute contempt, and the specific relief which the moving party is seeking.
Some family court judges are starting to employ criminal contempt sanctions for contempt that cannot be purged.
If at the contempt proceeding the responding party intends to seek counsel fees and costs, or other appropriate relief permitted by law, then he shall serve a return to the rule to show cause prior to the commencement of the hearing, unless a Family Court judge requires a return to be served at some other time.