Legal Question in Legal Ethics in California
After using up the retainer
All of a sudden, ''my attorney'' was yelling at me on the phone, being obnoxious and rude re my case. We have met twice and suposedly from the last conversation, things were moving along, slowly. I thought. I was shocked at his anger, i asked but he ended up hanging up on me after saying ''its been a long week'' !! Im here still trying to figure out any part of it. He asked if i wanted to quit right now. Well it seems my retainer of more than a ''few'' thousand dollars has been used up.. , he knows i do not have any more money and had to borrow that. I said i cannot believe the way youre speaking to me! He said hes the professional im just some person. ??? I looked on the bar's website didnt help any suggestions please. For a moment, i had to think for a second if i had dialed the right number..
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: After using up the retainer
It sounds like your attorney was very stressed. It happens to the best of us, but we shouldn't take it out on the clients. Needless to say, you might drop him a note asking for an accounting of your retainer and the status of the case. Then you can make a decision whether to proceed, dismiss the case, find another lawyer, raise more money, etc.
Since you didn't talk about the nature of your case and how long it's been pending, I can't even hazard a guess whether exhaustion of the retainer at this point is realistic.
Re: After using up the retainer
I agree with Mr Cohen, except I am not sure he went far enough (in my humble opinion).
Stressed or not, there is no excuse for his behavior.
You can always hire, and fire, an attorney. If his behavior was such, that you will not forgive him, find another attorney. If you don't think he has earned his fee, you can take the matter to the State Bar which was the mechanics in place for settling a fee dispute.
Also, since you went to the State Bar's website, you can file a complaint against the attorney for his unprofessional conduct.
Please feel free to e-mail, or call, my office if you need more help.
Good luck!
Re: After using up the retainer
Attorneys are human too, and we do not always act and say things the way we wish we did; even horrible, inexcusable things. If this is an aberration, wait a day, and then call him and ask if it is a better time to talk and patch things up.
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