Legal Question in Civil Litigation in New York

Would you think that if a client in uncomfortable with the nature of something her male attorney says, it would be ok, to tell him how she feels. This happened to me recently at a meeting with my male attorney and another attorney. He said something that made me feel very embarrassed, that i even turned around in my chair, not being able to face him. I told him how i felt briefly. Then the next day, i took my time, and wrote him an email expressing how embarrassed i was and i made sure i was not rude to him. Ps. he emails me back, dropping me as a client, saying i make a big deal of nothing and that i'm being ridiculous. I am so shocked and hurt.


Asked on 8/20/12, 4:07 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

If the lawyer said something -- especially in front of others -- that made you uncomfortable, then you were right to tell him so. Without knowing what you said or how you said it, I don't know whether you made "a big deal" of it as your lawyer said. And without knowing what he said or in what context, I don't know if I'd agree with him that it was too minor to justify your reaction.

You may want to look at your contract to see what it says about the lawyer's right to withdraw. Depending upon what you hired him to do and where the representation stands, he may have needed good cause resign. The type of dispute you describe doesn't sound sufficient to meet that standard. Here again, though, context matters and I don't know enough about the details to offer an opinion.

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Answered on 8/20/12, 4:22 pm


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