I hired a lawyer almost 6 months ago in my divorce case. I paid a flat fee up front. I was unable to reach my lawyer since October. I got a call a week ago from the firm stating my lawyer is no longer employed by the firm and they gave me a new lawyer. I have had 1 phone conversation with this lawyer and now they will not contact me back. I was told the old lawyer misplaced alot of the divorce documents I have already submitted and I need to resubmit all of them. The old lawyer did not file any of this paperwork to the court. How do I proceed.
Dear Ms. Baggett:
I am sorry to hear this as such actions clearly do not reflect well on attorneys. First, in my experience, unless one has a truly uncontested divorce, which is rare, when an attorney takes a divorce for a flat fee they stop working after they have "used up" that fee. In your case, if you have an engagement agreement in writing, the firm has to honor that agreement. I would suggest that you write a letter to whomever the managing partner is, set forth the issues and ask that attorney to get in touch with you immediately. Often this will be enough to get things back on track.
As to your missing documents, unfortunately this can happen. I would suggest that they look "harder" but I would not give them additional copies until you establish that this firm is going to move forward with your case. If you decide you should change firms, I would suggest you request an itemized bill to see how they applied the monies you gave them, and if you are entitled to a refund since your flat fee did not get you divorced.
The Florida Bar can also sometimes address these issues.
Best of luck,
Cindy S. Vova
Law offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.
Broward, Palm Beach, Miami Dade
954-316-3496/561-962-2785
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