Ole Billy had it right when he said that we need to"Kill all the Lawyers tonight" Have been trying to contact mine all week and all I get from his secratery is "He will call you back" Yea Right! Well this afternoon I tried one last time before the weekend and got "Wait a minute" she tries to page his phone and it rings like 5 times. She comes back on line and says"Oh he is with a client" So why did you page him to start with if he had a client. You have to walk right past her desk to leave. Hope it is slow and painful!
Sorry, but I needed to vent real bad.

I don't think all lawyers should be drowned. I do think a lot of the lawyers and judges need to be disbarred and fired from their jobs. I have a few relatives in the attorney lines of work. Unfortunately, they fall into the drowning class. It's like any profession, the rotten ones, make people hate all of them. Mike

I'm with Billy...fill up the bathtub and getter done.

Law school is just another tool used to enhance behavioral traits which already pre-exist. My worst nightmare involves a blood relative who will use that knowledge for devious purposes when I am gone, but that doesn't make all lawyers bad and finding a good one will avoid much turmoil for those left behind.

I don't think all lawyers need to be drowned but I think it would do some good to thin the herd. A bunch!

Do you owe him money?????
Are you a problem client???????
Probably one of the the two. There's always two sides to a story.

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Forum consigliere

Wait until your divorcing wife's lawyer want's to know all your assets to see how much you value your lawyer.

Sorry Cajun it is neither one, He has not been on the ball getting my case settled and pushing the matter. It has drug on since 1999. Was supposed to get close to 100K last year and only got around 25K with no accounting for the other 75K.

After you have reflected on your situation calmly, if you still believe you are being handled less than respectfully and professionally, send out the one word fax ("Relieved!") and go shopping for another. The world is full of lawyers and there is nothing worse than one who does not do his job. You are paying the bill and have every right to make the call.

2fingers-that's an interesting story-supposed to get 100K, got only 25K and no accounting for the other $.

Do you mean he, the lawyer, didn't account to you, the client, for the other 75K or that he, the lawyer, got no accounting from the other party for the other 75K?

If you think he got the 100K, then you certainly have reasons to be concerned. I have prosecuted way too many lawyers who kept their clients' monies.

If that may be the case, wander by the court house and read the court file. It will probably tell you what is going on, at least in the record. If it is closed and says the matter was settled, then your next stop should be the local law enforcement shop.

OTOH, there are lots of clients that lawyers just hate to talk to. But, 1999 does seem to be a bit long for any suit to drag on in a state court.

I am not an Illinois lawyer-just Florida and some Federal Courts, but in some states, and mine in particular, when you fire a lawyer you retained on a contingency fee basis, he then can obtain his fees on an hourly rate when you finally settle using another lawyer. He gets his money before you get yours. There are exceptions, but you want to be careful and talk with another lawyer you have confidence in before firing this one to make sure you are doing the right thing. If Illinois law is like ours, can't you just imagine how many hours (@$150-$300 per) the lawyer will be able to show he put in handling your case since-what was it-1999?

Bob

If you've been waiting for an accounting for a year, on Monday you should file a complaint with the Bar aAssociation. Something isn't right. I'm serious.

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Forum consigliere

No I do not think he got the money, we have not received it from the other party, sure seems to be dragging his feet on pressing the matter for some reason though. I do think it is time for a different plan of action.

"99% of lawyers give the other 1% a bad name"

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James Redfield
LM #497

Every state bar has a lawyer complaint process heavily tilted initially in favor of the complaint. If you can make a legitimate case to the appropriate disciplinary board, you will get most if not all that is coming to you. If you can't, you either do not have a case or you misunderstood something.

My experience has been that when this happens, your attorney and the opposing attorney are also involved in another case unrelated to you.

Your attorney may be using your case as a gimme to settle another bigger case involving more $$.

Do not trust your lawyer, make him accountable to you.

Probably won't do much good, but keep trying. As far as complaining to the Bar association, that's a joke. Who passes the laws pertaining to legal fees, complaints etc? Do you think it might be dentists or engineers? Who runs/owns the Bar association? The legal complaint system is a joke, stacked in favor of the lawyers if you have a dispute with them.

Good luck, but you probably won't see the other 75K. Of course some lawyer will try to get it for you for a 50/ 50 split, you pay your share up front.

Lawyers are one of the few professions that demand payment for shoddy, sloppy, incomplete work up front before their handiwork is exposed to the light of day.

Loking for help from the judge? What a laugh. Guess what he did before he was a judge? Maybe a brain surgeon?

end anti-lawyer rant. For now.

rayb

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"cumplo pero no obedezco"

re: "Lawyers are one of the few professions that demand payment for shoddy, sloppy, incomplete work up front before their handiwork is exposed to the light of day."

I thought for a moment there you might be getting into 'political' discussion....

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Dum vivimus Vivamas

I had a similar problem with an attorney several years ago, unresponsive to contact by phone or mail. When I finally reached him and inquired as to why my case was proceeding so slowly, his reply was that it must not be one fo his secretary's priorities and that he thought my retainer had been exhausted. For as little legal work as had been done, I could not see how that could be the case. I filed a charge with the ethics commitee of State Bar Association, boy did that ever get his attention. He called right away full of bluster and indignation asking who I wanted to have represent me. I responded that he was my counsel of record and would continue to be, then he got on the exhausted retainer issue which prompted me to request an itemized statement of hours expended. His reply was that he'd see to it that I received a copy of hours billed via Overnight Courier. When it arrived, guess what my retainer was no where near exhausted.
Long story short, the case went to trial and he was successful in recovering the money owed me. In the case of the defendants, they were so stupid as to mail me an extra $1K payment beyond what had been owed. Realizing this, I kept this check uncashed until I got an inquiry from my attorney as to where the payment was. The other side was very nervous about the whereabouts of the overpayment.

Billy Carter and Jimmy Carter,--------Billy was the smart one.