QUESTION
can my Lawyer leave my case without any notice.
Asked on Oct 19th, 2017 on Civil Litigation - Wisconsin
More details to this question:
I was involved in a civil case and I had 3 attorneys working together with separate practices. A contract was signed by all 3 attorneys to represent me. The contract was short and simple it listed all three attorneys and the breakdown of the possible award by percentages. No indication of what would happen if one or the attorney would leave. To make a long story shorter one morning in the local paper I read an extensive article about the fabulous attorney and his fabulous attorney wife had decided to buy a small yacht and sail the Caribbean until their money runs out. I read this in January so I have to assume this was in the planning for a while, you don't pickup and leave overnight. I had heard not one word about this so I waited for over a month before bringing it up to the remaining attorneys. Their answer was "oh he wasn't doing much anyway". Obviously this killed my trust and the whole case crashed. ALL THREE attorneys got paid and I was totally upside down? Can this happen?
1 ANSWER
4 Awards
Whether you have one lawyer or three lawyers, a lawyer cannot simply "abandon" a clien't case. If there is litigation involved, the lawyer would have been required to file a motion to withdraw from the case, which needs to be done, upon proper prior written notice to you and to seek court permisison to step out of the case. The attorney can do so, only if no harm comes to the client's case by stepping out.
The rule is less clear when there is no litigation. It would still be my opinion however, that the lawyer should have provided advance written notice to you of their not being able to pursue the case any longer, whether the attorney was retiring or otherwise. While court permission would not be required to step out of the case, the lawyer owed you that duty. You should not have heard about it from the other lawyers, and can't really tell from your post, whether the attorney has caused harmed to your case by stepping out.
You don't indicate what type of case you were involved with, or why anyone would need three lawyers, instead of one good lawyer, but perhaps, that is a whole another issue.
If you feel the lawyer did something unethical, file a grievance with the office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) in Madison, WI, assuming this is a Wisconsin lawyer.
Answered on Oct 20th, 2017 at 8:55 AM
David B. Karp Karp & Iancu, S.C. 933 North Mayfair Road #300 Milwaukee, WI 53226 414 453 0800 dbk@karplawfirm.com www.karplawfirm.com