Legal Question in Civil Litigation in New York

You can always fire a lawyer for any reason or no reason. There is no such thing as a "non-refundable retainer," and lawyers who put that in their retainer agreements get disbarred, suspended or otherwise raked over the coals.

If the lawyer has done work for you before you fire him, you will owe for those services. But he can't charge a penny more than what he's owed for work performed unless he wants to end up before the Departmental Disciplinary Committee. And the amounts he will pay to counsel to defend the charges will likely be more than he might try to steal from you. Of course, if you hired and paid a stupid lawyer, you have only yourself to blame. But you can stop the hurt by sending him an email and a certified, return receipt requested letter telling him to stop work and account for the retainer deposit.