The aftermath of the accident can be very disorienting and chaotic. If you are filing an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit, then you need to hire a lawyer who can represent your interests. Well, a lot of residents may find that they have made the wrong decision when they decided to hire. From a lack of transparency to miscommunication issues, you may encounter different issues that indicate that you require a better lawyer and in such cases, you may wonder about Firing your Lawyer Before Settlement, and if that so then this article is for you.
Signs which show you that you should hire a new attorney
Even after the stringent exams, training, and legal education that an attorney requires to be in good standing within the state of Montana, not even all lawyers are equally competent. In fact, a few signs are pointing to an unqualified and inappropriate personal injury attorney. If your lawyer has any of the following measures, begin looking elsewhere.
- Your lawyer is unable to explain the importance of your case.
- Your attorney will not tell you what you’ll do to begin preparing for your case.
- Your attorney wants to force you to do stuff you do not feel very comfortable doing.
- Your attorney can’t explain his or her strategic plan for your case.
- Your lawyer will hand over your case to the case manager rather than handling your case personally.
- Your lawyer is not able to return your phone calls and emails continuously.
Is it easy to fire an attorney?
As long as you’re not near to a settlement, you can simply fire a lawyer from your case. You don’t have to pay the full price of legal fees and then you will obtain your full case file to be forwarded to your new attorney. Even so, if you are near to settlement and also have a deal on the table, it is not appropriate to switch lawyers at this point.
To start firing your attorney, try sending him or her a fax or e-mail as a notification. Describe that you will be firing a lawyer and, if relevant, give an explanation for your firing. Tell your attorney that you aim to consider hiring another attorney and consider giving him or her a date on which to pick up your file. Please focus on providing your contact information for the company to approach you when your file is ready.
Do you still owe the money to the first lawyer?
You could never fire your first attorney and you cannot reimburse him or her for legal services. In certain cases of personal injury, a contingency fee agreement can be signed that provides your lawyer a certain proportion of your settlement in case you win, alongside exemptions for any expenses involved and during the case process. Although you may not feel pleased with the results of your lawyer, the attorney may (and will) start charging you for his or her time.
The fired lawyer will have the lien for legal fees and numerous case expenses, like police reports and filing fees requests, related to your injury that you need to pay. If you employ a second lawyer, he or she will generally pay a fee to the fired lawyer on your behest. You still maintain the lowered out-of-pocket costs of your contingency fee agreement.
For instance, say you hired a lawyer who failed to respond to your repetitive emails and calls. You hire some other lawyer to represent your case, and you get a $100,000 settlement on your behest. A contingency fee agreement is signed by you with the second lawyer for 33 percent of the final settlement so that the second lawyer will receive $33,000. You will be receiving $67,000
Just after settlement, the fired lawyer filed a bond asserting that he or she had spent $5,000 worth of time on your case before you fired him or her. Your second lawyer will pay the fired attorney $5,000 and keep the remaining $28,000 for his or her legal fees and costs. You’re going to keep your $67,000 share.
Firing a lawyer is a little risky to you, particularly during the initial stages of a process. If you’re dissatisfied with your Montana law services, find someone else-a a number of qualified personal injury attorneys practices in the state.