I was arrested on 10/29/16, retained an attorney on 11/22/16, and had my first pretrial on 12/29/16. At the consult, attorney agreed to represent me for a one time, lump sum payment of $1500. He verbally agreed to this sum as total compensation, regardless of if the case was dismissed, I accepted a plea offer, or it went to trial. Attorney also agreed to file a motion for discovery by the following Tuesday. He did not file his appearance until over a month later on the morning of 12/29 right before my first pretrial. He had not filed for discovery at that point, but said he would do it the following Wednesday. He did request a continuance which was granted for 2/23. On 2/22, I checked on my case (as I had nearly every day since 12/29) and discovered he had still not filed for discovery. I had left 7 voicemails and sent 5 emails to the number/email on his business card but had not received no replies. That p.m., I received a Facebook private message via their Messenger app from the attorney reminding me of my pretrial the next morning. I replied, thanked him, but said that it had become clear his services were not a good fit for my needs and that I would no longer need his services effective immediately. I also requested an itemized bill and a refund of the balance. Attorney read my message immediately and responded with a "thumbs up". When I arrived to court the next morning, 30 minutes before my hearing, attorney was waiting outside the courtroom. He informed me he had already had my pretrial an hour earlier (90 minutes before it was scheduled for), had told the Judge I was unable to be there that day (untrue), had scheduled a pretrial for 4/19, and would file for discovery before leaving the courthouse. As of today, he has still not requested the discovery. I already fired him but he represented me anyway and lied to the judge. Will I have to accept the charges incurred at court on 2/23? I'm so confused and dumbstruck.
No, you shouldn't owe him for any work, though he did have an obligation to show up to tell the court he was getting out of the case at your request, and you may owe him for showing up.
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