my husband and I hired an attorney to help him adopt my son from a previous relationship. it's an uncontested adoption. we went in and spoke to her about the adoption and she told us how much it would cost and we paid her up front. then a couple weeks later she started sending us bills for her services. my husband called to talk to her about it and she claimed that he and I had signed a fee agreement (which we did NOT) that she would hang onto the money we gave her up front and that we would pay for services as we went along. then I called her to tell her we had not signed a fee agreement and she WENT OFF on me and hung up on me . now we're not sure what to do. she's still failed to provide a copy of this so called "fee agreement", which of course she can't do because we didnt' sign one and now we're not sure what to do. we don't have the money to hire another attorney and she's still failed to provide us with a court date for the adoption. any advise on our next move?
Answers:
It certainly sounds like your attorney is taking advantage of you. Draft a letter in which you terminate her immediately. Demand that all of your money be returned and refuse to pay for any bills for work. Acknowledge that she claims there is a fee agreement and that you deny it. Demand a copy of the alleged fee agreement. Send the letter by certified mail and give her 7 days to comply. If she ignores you, you have no choice but to seek help from another attorney or file a small claims complaint. She will likely subtract the amount she has billed from the amount you gave her and return the rest. At that point, you're probably best off dropping the matter with her, hire a new attorney, and move on. She is clearly acting unethically and illegally, but for the amount the is probably involved, you're not going to be able to fight her without spending more money that it's worth. Plus, an attorney is entitled to payment for work done, even if the specifics for payment of that work are not in writing.
Make sure you file a complaint with the local and state bar associations.
Get a new attorney and file the papers in court to change your attorney, and don't pay her another dime. If she wants the money from you, she'll have to show the court a signed fee agreement when she sues you, but if there is no agreement, then she has no case.
You can also sue HER for taking your money and not doing anything. Call the court to see if this woman set up a hearing date at all, and if not, then you can sue her and get that money back. If there IS a date set, then get another lawyer to represent you at that hearing and don't worry about the old lawyer.
find a new lawyer. Inform the first one in writing that she is fired and direct her to forward any files to the new lawyer. if she refuses to refund any money, then every state bar has a fee dispute resolution committe. They tend to favor clients over lawyers and if there is no written fee agreement will order the first one to refund the entire amount.
THAT is one reason that I don't do attorneys, lawyers or whatever they call themselves these days. Actually you can do this yourself particulary since it is uncontested. You may have to jump through a few hoops but at least you will save your hard earned money. Contact your local or state Self-help center or legal aid. They will be able to direct you. Also, contact your state's Bar association and complain. Be specific and have backup to support your complaint.
About filing a complaint with the local bar association - don't wast your time. Not every state requires membership in bar associations. For example in Illinois we have hundreds of bar associations, but our license is held by the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. What you need to find out is what organization issues licenses for attorneys in your state and file a complaint with them.
Try the site below and watch the movie. This might be what you are looking for in a Law Firm you can Trust. Make sure to leave good contact info. someone will call you and discuss in detail how this will benefit your entire family.
You can file a complaint with the state bar -- some have special arbitration procedures for resolving fee disputes.
Also, as Henry and Hillary suggested, write the formal letter of termination, and notify the court.
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