Elizabeth S Conan's Answers

Is there a way to find out about a newly hired lawer`s bar complaints? Just to verify the conduct of the attorney a client hired

The Florida Bar's website only shows whether an attorney is in good standing and whether s/he has had any disciplinary history in the past 10 years. Disciplinary history is a public reprimand, a suspension, emergency suspension, and a disbarment, and in each case the matter has been investigated by the Bar and ethics rule violations have been found. However, if you're just trying to find out whether an attorney has ever had a complaint filed against him or her, or has a complaint currently...

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Ambitious Student wishes to enter Law School but I have concerns regarding a plea of no contest to a third degree felony--minor

It doesn't matter what anyone has told you - if you do NOT disclose the felony on your law school application AND your Florida Bar application, the Board of Bar Examiners will have a field day. It is far better to be called before the Board for an investigative hearing and only have to explain the felony, rather than have to explain the felony as well as why you did not disclose it on your applications. Nondisclosure and omissions are among the most serious offenses that preclude Bar...

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Dispute with attorney over legal fees

I cut and pasted the following from the State of Michigan Attorney Discipline Board website: "What can I do if I have a fee dispute with my attorney? Contact the Attorney Grievance Commission. If requested in writing by the attorney and the client, the Grievance Administrator may assign a fee dispute to a volunteer attorney for arbitration. There is no fee for this service. However, the parties must agree that they will be bound by the arbitrator's decision. " www.adbmich.org

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What do I do if my attorney isn't acting in my best interest?

Schedule an appointment to speak with the attorney about your concerns, which may simply stem from a miscommunication or misunderstanding about your attorney's role in post-judgment proceedings.

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Fired my attorney

The Bar encourages people to try to resolve fee disputes with their lawyers first. You can do this by writing to the lawyer about why you disagree with the bill, and the lawyer can let you know why he or she feels that you are responsible for the bill. If that doesn't work, you can try the Legal Fee Arbitration Program offered by the Florida Bar. Information can be obtained by clicking on the Florida Bar website below, then clicking on "public information" in the left hand column of the...

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Ethical issues

If you feel that your attorney may have made unauthorized disclosures, and possibly violated attorney-client privilege by doing so, you might consider contacting The Florida Bar so they can investigate further. You can access the complaint form by clicking on the Bar's website link below. The more specific you can be in your complaint, the better, and any evidence of your suspicions (such as your communications with the detectives) would be helpful to submit in support of your complaint....

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A FL attorney has been having an affair with my wife - is this a violation of law or ethics?

Am I correct in assuming that you are describing your wife's lawyer, or at least someone who seems to have been acting in the capacity of her lawyer? If so, Rule 4-8.4(i) of the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar prohibits an attorney from having a sexual relationship with a client where that relationship "exploits or adversely affects the interests of the client or the lawyer-client relationship." There may be a problem involving an improper conflict of interest if the attorney was...

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Can a firm attorney represent me if I work for the law firm?

It depends on the type of case the firm attorney is representing you on. If your case has nothing to do with your relationship with the firm, the attorney can probably represent you if the law firm does not prohibit firm attorneys from handling any non-firm cases. However, if your case has to do with the firm for which you work (an employment dispute, for example), then a firm attorney could not represent your because the representation would or could in the future present a conflict of...

If i dont like the service of the private lawyer?

Review your representation agreement to see if there are any provisions about terminating the lawyer and if so, whether the lawyer keeps any fee you have paid. There should also be provisions regarding unpaid fees and how the lawyer would go about collecting them. You might think about talking to your lawyer about why you are dissatisfied to see if you can clear up the situation before resorting to firing him or her.

I have a lawyer but its been 2 years and 11,000 dollars later and I haven't seen any results at all

Your question does not disclose what type of case you have, which makes a difference in terms of the reasonable lenth of time for a case to be litigated. You might want to schedule and appointment with your lawyer regarding a case status update, or write to the lawyer asking for the same. You might also wish to include what your expectations or understanding was about the results you are seeking, so that the lawyer has an opportunity to clarify or explain, and if you are concerned about...