Legal Question in Personal Injury in North Carolina

What if a personal injury attorney is hired and due to a lack of help from this attorney I

decide to see another attorney , do I owe any money to the first attorney?


Asked on 5/02/14, 8:03 am

3 Answers from Attorneys

You would possibly owe for any cost and fees for work done to date but that would be determined by your professional services agreement - if you signed on. Sometimes you can switch attorneys and the first attorney will put a lien on your potential future settlement and what you may owe can be paid that way instead of you paying the first attorney directly.

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Answered on 5/02/14, 9:42 am
John Kirby Law Offices of John M. Kirby

If the attorney is really not helping, then he or she is not really entitled to a fee. There is not a lot of authority on this in North Carolina. It's not uncommon for a client to switch attorneys, and normally there is not a problem. The lawyer typically charge a "lien," and in fact he is usually prohibited from doing so. (See the NC Bar's opinion on this at http://www.ncbar.com/ethics/eth_articles_12,4.asp.) It's possible that you could owe the first attorney some costs, but that should not be very much.

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Answered on 5/03/14, 6:43 am
James Weeks Law Office of James B Weeks

I agree you can change attorneys and I would advise the prior attorney to withdraw because an unhappy client is bad for the attorney

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Answered on 5/03/14, 8:53 am


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