Firing Any
Attorney
What Changing Firms Looks Like
But firms are often vague about the details of a potential transition, which can add to the stress of finding new counsel. This page will walk you through your rights as a client to fire any attorney, and what a transition to a new office generally looks like.
If you feel the relationship isn’t working out, here are some reasons you can fire your attorney:
- You don’t like their work product or the service you have received
- You think they are too expensive.
- You don’t like how funny their voice sounds.
- You don’t like the color of their shoes.
- Any other reason.
It is totally your prerogative who you choose to hire.
But if you have hired a lawyer and now want to find someone else to represent you, we have some advice.
In a nutshell: You decide who represents you. Period. You can dismiss or retain counsel at any time for any reason. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Timeline to fire your current attorney.
Don’t tell your current attorney right away.
Work with your current attorney for as long as you can while you launch a new search. This will avoid prejudicing your case or hurting any feelings if you decide not to transition to another firm.
Consult with another attorney.
Talk with several other offices and make an educated decision. Changing counsel will create delays in your case, ensure that your frustration is your attorney – and not the legal system itself. Learn more about the pitfalls of the hourly billing system here.
Hire a new team (if needed).
When making a hiring decision, share your specific concerns with your new counsel. An ethical firm will give you an honest recommendation whether a change is really needed.
Let your new lawyer take over.
Your new team now represents you. Let them reach out to your old attorney to let them know they have retired from the case. If you want to help them, email your old attorney with a short notice politely confirming their dismissal.
Transfer your client file.
If your old attorney is ethical, they will respect and support your decision by immediately handing your file over to your new attorney without delay. These days, this is usually done by secure encrypted transfer directly between offices.
Transfer Finances
If you have any funds on file with your old attorney, they will need to be transferred to your new firm. Let your new counsel handle the details, but this is usually done by mailed check. Sadly, if you paid your old attorney a retainer, your old firm may decide to hold your funds hostage. Learn more about the difference between trust deposits and retainers here.
Give your new firm time.
This is the hard part. No matter how urgent the situation, you will need to swallow your anxieties and give your new team the time they need to review everything. As professionals, the usefulness of the information we can provide is directly correlated with the amount of hard data at our disposal. When we join in the middle of a case, elbow grease is the only way to get it.
If you would like to talk to The Hemmat Law Group about engaging them as your new legal counsel, please contact us here.
Be warned:
Though you can fire an attorney at any time, this does not mean it won’t have consequences for your case. Unless the situation is dire, we recommend only dismissing an attorney when you aren’t facing down court proceedings.
Attorneys find it tremendously difficult to come onto a case right before a significant event (like a hearing), so if you dismiss your counsel too close to a hearing, you may find it difficult to find a good attorney willing or able to take you on short notice.
And if they do decide to take on your case, expect to pay a steep price. Because most of the work in law is on the runway, the attorney you retain may be forced to throw additional manpower at the problem to meet the deadline you face.
When is the best time to fire an attorney?
If you must fire an attorney, the ‘best’ times to do so are:
- Immediately after a hearing
- When no hearings are scheduled for more than 3 weeks
- When trial isn’t scheduled for 100+ days
Should you ever need to fire us, here is what Hemmat Law promises all our clients: (And we usually give you more)
Your entire client file upon our withdrawal, without delay.
Referrals to a list of other attorneys we recommend in our absence, or support finding a new team.
A full briefing for your new counsel on the circumstances of your case, free of charge.
No holding your matter hostage for unpaid fees.
Common patterns Hemmat Law sees when taking over cases:
HOW YOU CAN DISMISS YOUR ATTORNEY:
It is best to dismiss your attorney in writing, but you can do so via any means you are comfortable.
Be brief, be polite, and be direct. In our opinion, a simple email or text is more than enough to let your current firm know you are parting ways.”
What can you expect from an attorney once they’ve been fired:
Hemmat Law Opinion: Not all attorneys are well adjusted. Some are themselves victims of the legal system’s strange culture.
Dragging Feet
This one is the most common problem. When taking over a case with time sensitive concerns, the biggest impediment is the delay in receiving your case file from your old attorney. Piecing together your case history without your file wastes time and resources that could be avoided if your old attorney got their act together.
Lack of Communication
A lot of clients who choose to fire their attorneys and hire The Hemmat Law Group instead, are firing their old attorneys for a lack of clear communication. Sometimes, the clients themselves don’t fully understand what is going on in their case. If your old attorney does not respond to our questions or acknowledge our takeover, this can complicate things.
Fee & Retainer Hostages
We have seen several attorneys hold the entirety of their client’s file hostage until a bill has been paid, even as deadlines approach that would irreparably prejudice their own client’s case. It’s a pretty ruthless and shameful collections tactic, but it is uncomfortably common in our industry.
Hostility
We are normally really proud of our industry, but we are sad to say that our team has been outright insulted by other attorneys for taking over their cases. Sure, this may hurt our feelings a little, but the real problem is that the client gets caught in the crossfire of their former attorney’s anger, and the transfer of the client file can be delayed.
How you (as a client) can help with these pitfalls:
You can best address these pitfalls by knowing about them and avoiding them in the first place.
That is why Hemmat Law works so hard to educate potential clients – even if they never decide to hire us. Pick your attorney carefully, manage your case with transparency, and educate yourself about the structure of the practice of law.
All we can hope to do is to make the legal industry just a little more transparent, and to make you just a little more comfortable with the road ahead.
Do you have other questions about common pitfalls of the legal industry?
