QUESTION
Will I have to pay attorney fees if I no long want my personal injury lawyer?
Asked on Apr 21st, 2011 on Personal Injury - Michigan
More details to this question:
My attorney has been extremely rude to me on my case. He has been working on it since November but hasn’t done anything. I wrote a letter stressing my wishes to not be represented by him anymore. Will I still have to pay his fees?
24 ANSWERS
Personal Injury Law Attorney serving Naperville, IL
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Law Office of Barry R. Rabovsky
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You may have a case, based upon the information that you have supplied.
Answered on Jul 12th, 2013 at 1:24 AM
Automobile Accidents Attorney serving Portland, OR
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The Law Office of Josh Lamborn, P.C.
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What you have to pay your attorney depends on your contract with him or her. Usually, lawyers that work on a contingency fee basis include a provision in their contract that account for situation where they are "fired" by their client. This provision usually provides that if any money is awarded to the plaintiff in resolution of the case that the attorney worked on the lawyer is to receive a share consistent with the time they have spent on the case. If you fire your attorney right before the case settles then I would expect that you would have to pay the attorney the entire bargained for amount in the contract. If the attorney only worked a few hours on the case prior to being let go then it should be consistent with time worked on the case. If another attorney is hired and takes the case to completion there should be a pro-rata accounting of the attorney fee based on the hours spent on the case. If you do get money and your lawyer has worked on the case they will likely file a lien on the award if the case has been filed with the court. If not the insurance company is likely to cooperate with the attorney in making sure the attorney gets paid.
Answered on Aug 02nd, 2011 at 7:19 AM
Plaintiff Animal Bites Attorney serving Missoula, MT
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Bulman Law Associates PLLC
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It depends on what your contract says and whether your attorney has accomplished something. The first thing your new attorney should do is contact the first attorney and see what, if anything, he/she claims is owed.
Answered on Jul 30th, 2011 at 7:11 AM
Personal Injury Attorney serving Austin, TX
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Law Offices of Earl K. Straight
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You have every right to fire your attorney, but that does not release you from the employment contract you signed when you hired him. He may or may not place a lien on your settlement proceeds for payment of his fees, meaning when you settle your case his name will be on the check as an additional payee. The only way to avoid this is getting a letter from him not only stating that he no longer represents you, but also that he does not have any liens upon your claim. Sometimes an attorney will be willing to waive his lien in exchange for a referral fee from your new attorney as payment for services performed to date. Most attorneys dont want a disgruntled client and are willing to work with you to reach an amicable solution. You may need to sit down with your attorney to discuss the situation and hopefully reach an agreement.
Answered on Jul 29th, 2011 at 3:46 PM
Criminal Defense Attorney serving Montrose, NY
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Law Office of Jared Altman
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You must agree to pay him for the reasonable value of his services out of the eventual recovery. He will work it out with your new attorney.
Answered on Jul 29th, 2011 at 3:45 PM
Personal Injury Attorney serving Missoula, MT
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Judnich Law Office
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Everything depends on the fee agreement you signed. However, in most states, attorneys are entitled to the work that they have performed on your claim.
Answered on Jul 29th, 2011 at 3:36 PM
Criminal Law Attorney serving Worcester, MA
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Gregory Casale, Attorney at Law
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Your lawyer will be entitled to either 1) compensation for the amount of time he has put into your case to date, or 2) a third of the last settlement offer on the case, if there has been one made. It really shouldn't effect you though in the long run. The new attorney that you hire will have to deduct whatever amount is due to the first attorney from his portion of the settlement. So in effect, you will still end up with two thirds of the final settlement and the first and second lawyers will have to split the one third due them. You should not let this issue influence your decision as to who represents you. However, I usually advise clients who approach me who are unhappy with their initial counsel to discuss their concerns with their attorney to see if they can mend the relationship. I would imagine that the lawyer may have done more work than is apparent to the client. Often times with PI cases it seems as nothing is being done when in fact either it actually is being worked or the attorney is waiting for the client to complete treatment, since no demand can actually be made until the client has completely finished treatment. Speak to your attorney and voice your concerns. If you are still unsatisfied there is no reason not to seek new counsel with whom you can feel comfortable.
Answered on Jul 29th, 2011 at 3:33 PM
General Civil Trial Practice Attorney serving Beaverton, OR
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Vincent J. Bernabei, LLC
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This depends on your written fee agreement. The agreement probably provides that the attorney will be paid. You can pay him when you resolve your claim.
Answered on Jul 29th, 2011 at 1:58 PM
Alternate Dispute Resolution Attorney serving Edmond, OK
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Woska Law Firm, PLLC
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In all likelihood your current attorney knows and is aware that he has a lien on your case for work performed. The point is this, if you fire him he will still be able to make a claim for fees whenever the case concludes. As far as how much he gets paid out of the fee, it will depend on proof and evidence of what he did for you compared to the work of the attorney who actually caused you to win. "Direct threats require decisive action."
Answered on Jul 29th, 2011 at 1:14 PM
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Attorney serving Syracuse, NY
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Andrew T. Velonis, P.C.
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Your case file belongs to you and you can demand that he turn it over. You will have to pay the expenses to date. If you get a recovery in the case, your new lawyer will apportion the fee with your previous lawyer according to the amount of work done by each.
Answered on Jul 29th, 2011 at 10:59 AM
Bad Faith Attorney serving Orlando, FL
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Riley Allen Law
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He may have a lien against your recovery (called quantum meruit) for the value of the services he provided (typically be the hour). More often than not, if you fire him, which you are free to do any time, your subsequent lawyer will take care of the fee from his or her fee, thus, not costing you any more in fees.
Answered on Jul 29th, 2011 at 8:42 AM
Personal Injury including Litigation Attorney serving Wilmington, DE
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Ramunno & Ramunno, P.A.
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Normally, if you get a new lawyer, he or she will work out an arrangement whereby you will not have to pay two attorneys.
Answered on Apr 27th, 2011 at 1:06 PM
Personal Injury Attorney serving Charlotte, NC
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Paul Whitfield and Associates P.A.
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Depends on what your contract with him says. I assume you signed an agreement with him. What does it say about such things. Call me after you review it.
Answered on Apr 26th, 2011 at 8:57 AM
Personal Injury Attorney serving West Palm Beach, FL
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Personal Injury Law Offices of Joseph I. Lipsky
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Under Florida Law you are free to change attorneys anytime you desire. However, your prior/old attorney will have a claim against the proceeds of your personal injury case for the time and money he spent working on your case. Generally speaking, trust should be your first concern in retaining an attorney; so, you shouldn't necessarily let the prior attorney's entitlement to a fee and repayment of his expended costs prohibit you from finding an attorney with whom you are most comfortable.
Answered on Apr 25th, 2011 at 12:31 PM
Criminal Defense Attorney serving Anderson, SC
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The David F. Stoddard Law Firm
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This depends on what your retainer agreement says. In most cases, the fee agreement requires you to pay the attorney for the value of his/her services if you terminate representation, but only after the case is settled. I would add, most attorneys would not have gotten a lot done on a personal injury cased within 4 or 5 months of being retained, especially if you are still seeing a doctor for your injuries. The attorney really cannot begin until after you are released from the doctor.
Answered on Apr 25th, 2011 at 11:15 AM
Theodore W. Robinson
Yes, you will be responsible for whatever hours he's actually put into your case working on it at an hourly rate if you fire him or replace him with another attorney. Or if you simply replace him, then he will get a portion of the fees received by the new attorney which is set by law at 1/3 of the amount recovered for you. Good luck.
Answered on Apr 25th, 2011 at 11:03 AM
2 Awards
You have a right to an attorney of your choice. Your attorney can probably pursue a share of attorney fees proportionate to his/her work on your case so far.
Answered on Apr 25th, 2011 at 11:02 AM
Sam Louis Levine
I am so sorry that you are experiencing this. Assuming that your attorney has not filed suit, you do not owe him any money. As a valuable Client, we attorneys work for you & you are entitled to attention & respect & should accept nothing less. I am happy to talk with you if you would like. Just let me know & don't worry-everything will be ok!
Answered on Apr 25th, 2011 at 11:02 AM
Civil Practice Attorney serving Redmond, WA
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Magnuson Lowell P.S.
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It depends on the terms of the written retainer agreement you signed. Read it carefully and see what it says. If you hire another attorney, occasionally, that other attorney can review what the prior attorney has done - and negotiate a discount (or even a waiver) of the fees.
Answered on Apr 22nd, 2011 at 10:51 AM
Whether you have to pay attorney fees depends on what the engagement agreement says. You might want to check that.
Answered on Apr 22nd, 2011 at 10:35 AM
Employment Law Attorney serving Beverly Hills, CA
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Dordick Law Corporation
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If you terminate the lawyer he is entitled to was is called quantum meruit fees. This is the reasonable value of his fees up to the point of his discharge. If he wants to pursue it, he would have to file a lien in your case. Any costs he expended are clearly recoverable from you. If you hire a new attorney that attorney usually sets their fee and you have to pay attorney #1 from your portion of any recovery. Attorney #2 can be helpful in negotiating on your behalf. There are various factors that go into the value of Attorney #1s lien amount.
Typically he will send the lien at his hourly rate for the number of hours he worked on the case. But in the end it is usually all negotiable unless he sues or pursues arbitration for his fees. Heres an example: if he worked 10 hours on your case and his rate is $250/hour, he will claim $2,500. But if attorney #2 puts in 30 hours and the case only settles for $10,000 it would be unfair for #1 to get $2,500 if #2 gets $3,333. Other factors include what settlement offers are on the table today as a result of #1s work and what the case settles for later. If they are offering you $5,000 today and #2 gets it up to $50,000, then #1s work was not very helpful. That is a factor. On the other hand, if they are offering $5,000 today and #2 only gets it to $6,000 10 months from now, #2 did not add much value. There is a famous case where #1 worked the case from day 1 up until the day before trial when the plaintiff got her relative to substitute in on the day of trial. The relative settled the case before the trial started. It was apparent that she was trying to cheat the lawyer out of his fee and the appellate court held that #1 earned his entire 1/3 fee.
As you can see, there are a lot of factors that go into this process. But if you are not comfortable with your lawyer, you should not hesitate to change to find one that will get the job done well and in a timely fashion. If #1 truly has not done anything on your case, then his lien should be nominal or he may even forego filing one.
Answered on Apr 22nd, 2011 at 10:11 AM
Workers Compensation Attorney serving West Palm Beach, FL
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He will have a lien but he will get paid a small amount from your settlement.
Answered on Apr 21st, 2011 at 5:40 PM
Good question. He would be compensated by the next lawyer who takes the case (assuming you are looking for another lawyer) out of whatever legal fee is generated. The first attorney is entitled to be compensated for the fair value of his work on the case.
Answered on Apr 21st, 2011 at 5:40 PM
Small Businesses Attorney serving Livonia, MI
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Klisz Law Office, PLLC
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He may and would likely have a lien on your file for the work and costs already done, but you are not forced to continue with an attorney you don't like to work with.
Answered on Apr 21st, 2011 at 5:37 PM