Attorneys who misrepresent their clients or act in bad faith should not be allowed to practice law and they should not have clients able to come to them. They should be given fines and suspensions and be made to re-acclimate into the law world. In the most egregious situations, these lawyers should be disbarred and prevented from practicing law ever again. Many lawyers simply don’t do their jobs well and wind up causing their clients to miss out on thousands of dollars. This is a huge, pervasive issue, and our attorneys at Normandie Law Firm can ensure that you are aware of the dealings and actions of your lawyer and what you can do
Do lawyers have obligations to clients?
Yes, lawyers have certain obligations to their clients. They must not participate in certain actions that can jeopardize their clients’ cases. Some examples include:
- Duty to avoid a conflict of interest, or only working on your side of the case and not representing the other side or the defendant
- Duty of confidentiality in which your personal details, case information, and other sensitive particulars of the situation are kept secret and away from anyone who could potentially compromise the situation
- Duty to provide competent representation, or represent you and work on your case to the best of his ability with no intent to throw the case away or intentionally misrepresent you
These duties and more are outlined in the ethics code of the bar association. If a lawyer breaks certain obligations or violates specific duties, he can potentially be disbarred and even fined. You may also have the ability to sue him, especially if he has taken payments from you and you have seen no results or he has purposely cheated you out of a fair result.
Some tactics that lawyers employ are specifically meant to turn the odds in their favor, tough. They may want to take their cut from many cases at once. This is not rare; lawyers may sign up numerous individuals at a time and claim that they will be giving each person a high level of attention, but it never happens. In the end, the attorney will pass the case off to another person in the office or he will simply call and ask for a low settlement. This means that the insurance agency can get off without having to pay a lot of money, the attorney will take his percentage of the whole settlement, and the client will be left with next to nothing to cover his losses and damages. This is extremely wrong and should not happen to any client.
Why is my attorney taking so long to settle my case?
Your attorney may take a long time to settle a case because of how the entire legal process works. Other common questions include:
- Why is my attorney taking too much time to settle my accident case?
- Why is my lawyer taking so much time to settle my car injury case?
- Why is my lawyer taking too much time to settle my car accident case?
Your attorney first has to gather your evidence, and then he must write the demand letter and submit it to the insurance agency. The agent will then take a few weeks to look over the evidence and potentially make an offer or throw the claim away. Then, the negotiation period will start. At a certain point, your attorney may simply think it is best to go to trial, which could lengthen the process even more.
However, your attorney may simply not care enough to move forward with your case. He could have stopped trying to reach a settlement because you did not accept what he initially brought to you. This could be a tactic to get you off his back. In some cases, the insurance agent is the one who will delay the process, but the attorney may be in on it.
Why has my lawyer not filed a lawsuit? Why doesn’t my lawyer want to file a lawsuit on my case?
Your lawyer may not have filed a lawsuit because he does not think he can win the claim or because he does not have the evidence he wants. Instead of simply telling you this, he may still hold you on so that he can take more money from you. This is not rare; many attorneys will simply dangle a client’s hopes and continue to bleed him dry until the case is eventually dropped.
Attorneys may bite off more they can chew, and instead of admitting defeat, they will double down. This is an issue and it prevents clients from getting what they deserve and switching to other attorneys in a timely manner.
How long should it take for my attorney to send out a demand letter?
The demand letter should be sent out within a few weeks of the evidence being submitted to the attorney. If he takes longer than that, he could simply be lazy or his staff could be incompetent. It is important that you find a lawyer who has good communication with you and who provides you with copies of the documents he submits. If he cannot provide you with proof of his submissions, you should reconsider his representation.
What if my lawyer is not asking for enough in a demand letter?
Your lawyer should ask for enough money to cover your losses. Many attorneys choose to ask for more than they know they can get and will negotiate downwards so there is no big loss, as negotiating upwards is more difficult. However, it is his duty to ensure that you are covered for the losses. If your attorney simply doesn’t ask for a reasonable amount of money, it is likely because he will not try to negotiate.
What if my lawyer stops communicating with me?
It is against the code of obligations of the attorney to abandon a case with no drop letter or to keep you on the contract if he does not intend to represent you. Clients often ask:
- Why is my lawyer ignoring my emails?
- Why is my lawyer ignoring my phone calls?
- Why is my lawyer ignoring my messages?
Generally, it is because the lawyer does not want to deal with the fallout. He believes that if you continue to call him and do not actively seek to pull your file, you are still represented by him. Many attorneys will try not to concern themselves with their clients, and they may stay closed off. If an attorney does not communicate with you, that is generally a bad sign and you will find it difficult to move forward with your case.
What if I don’t like the settlement offer?
There is no reason for you to accept the settlement offer if you do not like it. The entire pint of the negotiation process is to get paid in an amount that you feel will cover your expenses and damages. If the insurance agent makes you a low offer, you should reject it – but before that even happens, your attorney should be willing to tell you that the offer is not worth it and he will work to bring you a better amount. If the attorney does not do that, that is a sign that he is probably checked out of the case or that he does not care enough to work harder on it.
Can I switch my lawyer if I’m not happy with him?
Yes, you can switch to a new attorney if you are unhappy with the old one. You should be sure to get your case file from the old one, though, as you do not want to have to go through the entire process of gathering evidence again. In the middle of a case, you will have to let the party know that you will be changing representation.
If you wish to take action against the attorney, you can file a complaint with the state bar association to investigate him. This will allow the attorney’s practices to be scrutinized, and he may be forced to undergo an investigation or an inquiry. In the most extreme cases, he can be disbarred, or prevented from practicing law any further.
How do I get a second opinion on an attorney?
If you wish to get a second opinion on your current lawyer and your case, you can call our firm for help. We will look over the case details and tell you if we think your current lawyer is doing a good job or not. We may see a pattern of misrepresentation, or he may simply not be performing up to scruff. If you want to switch representation, we will make the process easy and painless for you.
The Best Firm In Town
Normandie Law Firm has a proven track record of success. We have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients and we know the best tactics to winning claims. Our aggressive lawyers are known for being relentless in their pursuit of rightful compensation. They are empathetic and caring, and we will always openly communicate and check in on our clients.
For a free legal consultation or second opinion, you can call our offices today. We will look over your case details and tell you our opinion on the situation. We invite you to ask us whatever you wish. If you want, we will take on your case and give you our zero fee guarantee. This says that you won’t have to pay any money out of pocket for our services. We will get paid if and only if we win, and the money will come out of the settlement or verdict we bring you. If we lose, we take nothing at all.
Don’t hesitate to get the most effective legal help available at the Normandie Law Firm.
