what to.do if you think your lawyer has misrepresented you

Full Answer

What are the signs of a bad lawyer?

Unprofessional or unethical behavior can include:

• Arriving late or failing to show up for important meetings, or missing court dates
• Making decisions of importance about your case without discussing it with you first
• Missing filing deadlines, filing paperwork incorrectly or filing the wrong paperwork with the court
• Refusing to return your calls or messages within a reasonable timeframe

More items...

How to sue a lawyer for misrepresentation?

if, for example, they (not their client) misrepresented significant facts to a judge, under oath, and you can prove to the judge that there was a misrepresentation, in most courts you may be able to get a sanctions order against the attorney while the case is still pending, and if you do, the state bar in your case may be interested in that …

Where can I file a complaint against my lawyer?

When filing a complaint, please have the following information available:

• Your full name, address, and phone number.
• Attorney's full name, registration number, address, law firm, and phone number. (For assistance with this information, use attorney search .)
• Date of occurrence and date of your awareness.
• Court location and case numbers (if you have a court case).

How to sue your lawyer?

Steps to Take to Sue Your Lawyer for Malpractice

• Obtain your case file from your original attorney;
• Gather all documentation pertaining to the original case;
• Contact a legal malpractice attorney;
• Schedule a consultation with the legal malpractice attorney you choose, and
• Follow the advice of your legal malpractice attorney at all times. ...

How do you know if a lawyer is scamming you?

How To Avoid Legal Representation ScamsPayment needs to happen quickly. You can't ask questions or get clarification.It's an emergency. Someone may threaten you or your loved ones.Requests for money usually happen over text, email or phone.The person contacting you is not someone you recognize.

What is the most common complaint against lawyers?

Perhaps the most common kinds of complaints against lawyers involve delay or neglect. This doesn't mean that occasionally you've had to wait for a phone call to be returned. It means there has been a pattern of the lawyer's failing to respond or to take action over a period of months.

What is unethical for a lawyer?

Attorney misconduct may include: conflict of interest, overbilling, refusing to represent a client for political or professional motives, false or misleading statements, knowingly accepting worthless lawsuits, hiding evidence, abandoning a client, failing to disclose all relevant facts, arguing a position while ...

What happens when a lawyer lies to his client?

The rules of legal ethics in most states require attorneys to be honest and to be able to do their job at a certain level of competence. If you feel that your legal representative has lied or misled you, or is performing their duties at a level below that of a competent attorney, you may want to file a lawsuit.

What is it called when a lawyer doesn't do his job?

Legal malpractice is a type of negligence in which a lawyer does harm to his or her client. Typically, this concerns lawyers acting in their own interests, lawyers breaching their contract with the client, and, one of the most common cases of legal malpractice, is when lawyers fail to act on time for clients.

What happens when a lawyer makes a mistake?

There are other options if you don't want to sue your former attorney for a mistake they made. You can report them to the state bar or the American Bar Association. They will conduct an investigation if the mistake is serious enough and the lawyer could face being disbarred or other disciplinary actions.

What is considered an ethical violation?

What is an ethical violation? In a nutshell, an ethical violation is something that is - spoken, written, actioned - that violates a company's documented code of ethics, mission, vision, values, and culture. We also know that ethical violations laugh in the face of what is considered normal societal behaviour.

What are the common breaches of ethics committed by lawyers?

The following are some of the most common ethical violations that can be encountered:The attorney failed to communicate with the client. ... The attorney has failed to return important documents to the client. ... The attorney demonstrated incompetence. ... Conflicts of interest were apparent. ... Financial discrepancy was apparent.

Do lawyers cheat their clients?

Yes, some lawyers lie, cheat and deceive their clients. But they are the exception, and an embarrassment to most lawyers.

Are lawyers allowed to lie to clients?

In California, the Rules of Professional Conduct govern a lawyer's ethical duties. The law prohibits lawyers from engaging in dishonesty. Cal.

How do you spot a liar in court?

First of all, liars have difficulty maintaining eye contact with the person asking the questions. If the witness looks up at the ceiling while thinking of an answer, or looks down at the floor, they are liying every time. When a witness covers his mouth with his hand, he is about to lie.

Can lawyers lie to get information?

The American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct states that a lawyer “shall not knowingly make a false statement of material fact.” In other words, lawyers aren't supposed to lie--and they can be disciplined or even disbarred for doing so.

How to prepare a legal case?

Put a summary together about your legal claim or court case. Prepare a file of all documents used in your case (your own notes too, not just legal documents) Call and schedule a free telephone or in person consultation at a time and place convenient with you.

How long do you have to file a lawsuit against an attorney in Ohio?

In the state of Ohio, you only have one year to file a claim against the attorney who caused legal malpractice from the time of your last communication, with your attorney and longer under certain circumstances.

What happens when you receive less than stellar treatment from a doctor?

When you receive less than stellar treatment from a doctor, it’s quite similar to Legal Malpractice. When you’re being represented by an attorney, you expect them to be competent, professional and capable of providing the best legal advice possible. You have every right to sue your legal team if you feel that you have been misrepresented or ...

Can you sue your legal team?

You have every right to sue your legal team if you feel that you have been misrepresented or that something is amiss during legal proceedings and has caused you a financial loss.

Emma A. Kremer

I'm sorry that you have to deal with this unfortunate situation. I agree with the answers of my colleagues. The best thing to do is report the attorney's behavior to the Board of Bar Overseers and potentially sue for professional malpractice but as already noted, such cases are quite difficult to win.

Daniel DeMaria

I agree with my colleague. Contact the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers. Also, you may want to contact a lawyer to see whether you have grounds to vacate the order. And, you may be able to sue the lawyer for professional negligence, though those cases are usually very hard to win. Lastly, you can always review the lawyer on Avvo. Good luck...

John Joseph Westerhaus

This is the proper resource for you in MA: http://www.mass.gov/obcbbo/complaint.htm According to that website...

What happens if an attorney doesn't perform his duties?

When lawyers don't perform their duties as expected, they may be guilty of legal malpractice. If you suspect your attorney has misrepresented you, or has performed incompetently, you may have grounds to file a lawsuit.

How to win a malpractice case?

You must be able to show that the attorney either failed to uphold her part of your contract, breached her fiduciary duty or was negligent. Beyond that, you mush show that you were harmed by the attorney's action or inaction. If you can show this to be the case, you may have grounds for a lawsuit.

What is the next step in a lawsuit?

The next step consists of serving a summons to the lawyer, which must be delivered in person. A summons provides notice to the defendant of a lawsuit that there is an action pending against him. The summons will compel the defendant, in this case the attorney you are suing, to answer the complaint filed against him.

What to do if your lawyer is not responding to your complaint?

If your lawyer is unwilling to address your complaints, consider taking your legal affairs to another lawyer. You can decide whom to hire (and fire) as your lawyer. However, remember that when you fire a lawyer, you may be charged a reasonable amount for the work already done.

What to do if you have a complaint about a lawyer?

If you believe you have a valid complaint about how your lawyer has handled your case, inform the organization that governs law licenses in your state. Usually this is the disciplinary board of the highest court in your state. In some states, the state bar association is responsible for disciplining lawyers.

Why should a lawyer refuse to take a case?

Unnecessary delays can often damage a case. If, because of overwork or any other reason, a lawyer is unable to spend the required time and energy on a case , the lawyer should refuse from the beginning to take the case. A lawyer must be able to communicate effectively with a client.

How should a lawyer act in both professional and private life?

How a lawyer should act, in both professional and private life, is controlled by the rules of professional conduct in the state or states in which he or she is licensed to practice. These rules are usually administered by the state’s highest court through its disciplinary board.

What is the relationship between a lawyer and a client?

In a lawyer-client relationship, acting responsibly involves duties on both sides—and often involves some hard work. You have a right to expect competent representation from your lawyer. However, every case has at least two sides. If you are unhappy with your lawyer, it is important to determine the reasons.

What is the job of a lawyer?

Communication. A lawyer must be able to communicate effectively with a client. When a client asks for an explanation, the lawyer must provide it within a reasonable time. A lawyer must inform a client about changes in a case caused by time and circumstances. Fees.

What happens if your lawyer doesn't communicate?

A lack of communication causes many problems. If your lawyer appears to have acted improperly, or did not do something that you think he or she should have done, talk with your lawyer about it. You may be satisfied once you understand the circumstances better. I have tried to discuss my complaints with my lawyer.

What to do if your lawyer is unresponsive?

If the lawyer is unresponsive and the matter involves a lawsuit, go to the courthouse and look at your case file, which contains all the papers that have actually been filed with the court. If you've hired a new lawyer, ask her for help in getting your file. Also, ask your state bar association for assistance.

What to do if your lawyer doesn't work?

If that doesn't work, as a last resort you may need to sue your lawyer in small claims court, asking the court for money to compensate you for what you've spent on redoing work in the file or trying to get the file.

What is the agency responsible for licensing and disciplining lawyers?

Every state has an agency responsible for licensing and disciplining lawyers. In most states, it's the bar association; in others, the state supreme court. The agency is most likely to take action if your lawyer has failed to pay you money that you won in a settlement or lawsuit, made some egregious error such as failing to show up in court, didn't do legal work you paid for, committed a crime, or has a drug or alcohol abuse problem.

What to do if you lost money because of a lawyer?

If you lost money because of the way your lawyer handled your case, consider suing for malpractice. Know, however, that it is not an easy task. You must prove two things:

What is the defense of a lawyer who is sued for malpractice?

A common defense raised by attorneys sued for malpractice is that the client waited too long to sue. And because this area of the law can be surprisingly complicated and confusing, there's often plenty of room for argument. Legal malpractice cases are expensive to pursue, so do some investigating before you dive in.

What to do if you can't find out what has been done?

If you can't find out what has (and has not) been done, you need to get hold of your file. You can read it in your lawyer's office or ask your lawyer to send you copies of everything -- all correspondence and everything filed with the court or recorded with a government agency.

What happens if a lawyer doesn't return phone calls?

A lawyer who doesn't return phone calls or communicate with you for an extended period of time may be guilty of abandoning you -- a violation of attorneys' ethical obligations. But that's for a bar association to determine (if you register a complaint), and it won't do you much good in the short term.

What to Do If Your Lawyer Is Not Helping You

When your lawyer is not responding to you properly, it means he is not taking an interest in your case. In such a situation, he’ll neither receive your case nor will call you back. It’s not a good sign as it will cease your case and not process properly.

How to Judge a Lawyer?

Whether he’s honest or not, judging a lawyer is very important. One can clear this point via various factors. Some of the factors to judge a lawyer are given here.

What to Do When My Lawyer is Not Helping Me?

When you find your lawyer not interested in your case, do these preventive measurements promptly.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you find your lawyer ignorant of your case, find out the reason behind it, and start searching for a new lawyer for your case too.

Conclusion

From the above discussion, the importance of proper communication between the lawyer and the plaintiff is clear. Without proper coordination with the client, a lawyer can hardly succeed in the case. So, if you find that your lawyer is not helping you, try to find out the reason behind his ignorance.

When starting a professional relationship with a legal representative, it is best to get the retainer in writing?

When starting a professional relationship with a legal representative, it is best to get the retainer in writing. This serves as the work contract, but it is not a prerequisite. However, ensuring that you do get it in writing is a smart idea. This will allow future costs to be compared to what the lawyers claimed they would be in the beginning.

Why are there laws in place to protect clients?

Since the costs for legal matters can become exceedingly high, there are laws in place to protect clients. These laws are intended to allow sanctions against any lawyers who charge overly high fees. Costs are also able to be reviewed by independent bodies.

How long does it take to get a lawyer's bill assessed?

In order to apply for an assessment of your lawyer’s costs, you must do so within one year. This time starts when the bill is received, or when payment has been requested. It can also start after you have paid the costs, should you wish to have those costs reviewed.

Do lawyers have to disclose costs?

There is an exception when the total costs are below the threshold of $750, not including disbursements. Unless the costs have, or are expected, to exceed this amount, a lawyer does not have to disclose costs.

What to do if your attorney does not reply to email?

If your attorney does not reply via email, then you should call their office. A phone call is more direct and personal than an email. Since you speak to your lawyer over the telephone, you should be able to better gauge why they have not followed through with activities that you feel are important.

How to get your attorney's attention?

The best, most unobtrusive way to start getting your attorney’s attention is by sending them an email. Lawyers regularly check their emails, so it is a good way to see if someone from their office will respond to you. If your attorney does not reply via email, then you should call their office.

How to be proactive in a relationship with an attorney?

To be proactive from the beginning of your relationship with your attorney, the first thing that you can do is to let them know your concrete expectations. Some lawyers and clients will sign a contract with one another about expected fees, timetables, and the availability of the lawyer.

What are the problems with lawyers?

People have problems with their lawyers for a variety of reasons, but some of the main issues involve: 1 Fee conflicts 2 Issues involving communication or neglect 3 Competency problems 4 Ethical concerns

How to get your point across to your lawyer?

Sending a letter is another good way to get your point across to your lawyer. In the letter, you may want to state a specific date that you expect to hear from them, or that you want them to complete something. While going through the stages of a divorce, there are several deadlines that your lawyer will need to meet.

What are the concerns of hiring a lawyer?

Competency problems. Ethical concerns. Any of these areas can cause major concerns for people who have hired a lawyer to help protect their personal interests. If you have these types of concerns about your attorney, then you must be proactive about protecting your well-being, and proving your side of the case.

What happens when you file a complaint against a lawyer?

Once someone files a complaint about a particular lawyer with a governing board (such as the boards mentioned above), then an investigation occurs regarding the practice of that lawyer. The case is typically handed over to a grievance committee that reviews lawyers’ work and ethics.