Home > Research Legal Advice > Ethics / Professional Responsibility > I fired my attorney, but he said I can not do that? Can he say this?What...
Asked 11 months ago - San Jose, CA
FlagMy attorney took my case on contingency, He filed the complaint in Sep. 30 2011. till March 2012 he did not serve the complaint, he also asked me to drop my W/C case. I lost my Job since there was no complaint pending against my employer and the employer did fire me. After 17 months doing nothing, not answering my emails nothing at all, I did sent him email and fired him. now he says I can not fire him, I do not know nothing, it does not work this way! Please someone help me? I read my contract it can be void by any party at any time! I want him off this case, I want to transfer this case from superior court to small claim. Please help me
An attorneys formost duty is to keep in communication with his clients. If your suit has not been served it is likely set on the OSC calendar for review. This means a judge will dismiss your case if not served within a year or so after filing. Worke's compensation laws have very strict time limits. Your good fortune may depend on if your attorney has liability insurance. If you prove that he has prejudiced your case, he (through his professional liability insurance company) will have to pay you the value of your case. You need to speak to a Workers Compensation attorney, a personal injury attorney, and a professional liability attorney, which are usually mutually exclusive.
San Jose Personal Injury Lawyer
101 Market St.
San Jose, Ca
(559) 485-1212
Rest assured, you can fire your attorney. While that attorney may be entitled to a portion of the recovery in your case for work they've performed, that does not prevent you from hiring someone else.
Another point worth noting, it sounds as though you may have some serious statute of limitation issues as well as insufficient service of process problems. In order to best protect your interests you would be well advised to speak with another attorney as soon as possible. Consider speaking with both a personal injury attorney and a workers compensation attorney (not necessarily the same person). I wish you the best.
You can fire an attorney at any time simply by sending a termination letter. Always best to find a lawyer with a low contingency fee, less than 30%, so you are left with the lion's share of your settlement.
If the lawyer has blown the statute, you'd want to retain a legal malpractice lawyer.
The answer does not create an attorney-client relationship and is for informational purposes only.
Lassen Law Firm
1515 Market St #1510
Philadelphia, PA 19102
215-510-6755
http://www.InjuryLawyerPhiladelphia.com
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