Can you define a "reasonable" time length? And "diligence," please?

       There is no definitive answer to your question. Lawyers are under a duty to keep their client reasonably and promptly informed on the status of the case. This doesn't always require "same day" response, but certainly requires a contemporaneous response. It shouldn't take you repeated attempts and weeks on end to get information on your case from your lawyer. To me, that is totally unacceptable. In regard to copies of your file, you own the file, not the lawyer. The lawyer is under a duty to copy and provide you with everything in the file, upon reasonable request, all without charge. If the attorney has periodically provided you with copies of your file and you want them to copy it a second time, under that circumstance, the lawyer can reasonasbly charge you the costs of copying the file.        I can't speak for other lawyers but we have a "same day return" policy in our office. This means that every  e mail, every phone call, and every inquiry from clients, prospective clients and other attorneys, to the extent we reasonably can, gets returned and responded to the same day. To me, it is not just enough to provide the best legal representation, but it is equally as important to provide excellent customer service. You obviously aren't getting that with your current lawyer  and the mesasge I am getting is that they don't seem to care about you or your case. It may be time for you to go shopping for a new lawyer. You don't describe what the nature of your legal case is about so I don't know if you are talking about an injury case, or you are in the middle of a divorce.