My attorney refuses to communicate with me until I threaten to to go the board of professional responsibility
My husband and I filed for a chapter 13 bankruptcy almost 5 years ago. We have continued to have problems with our attorney by way of her not returning phone calls or emails. I have been trying to get permission from the trustee to allow me to receive an SBA loan to open a small business. I sent this information to my attorney months ago and still have no answer. I have sent dozens of emails to her and left dozens of voice mails, still no answer. I finally emailed her and told her that I was going to go to the board and report her for not representing me, and she finally responded. Now she is threatening to request to be removed from my case because I threatened to go to the board. Can she do this? How is it possible for her to request this just because she will not do her job?
Attorney answers (3)
Brian J Waid
Reputation Level 8
Answered over 2 years ago.
Ethics / Professional Responsibility Lawyer in Seattle, WA.
I would answer slightly differently than my predecessors. First, the Bankruptcy Court is part of the Federal Court system. The Bankruptcy Court, for a layperson's purposes, is kind of a subset of the United States District Court within that District. Each US District Court system has its own Bar admission and disciplinary process that addresses misconduct by attorneys within that District. So your attorney, by virtue of practicing in the Bankruptcy Court must be admitted to practice in that US District Court and subject that Federal Court's disciplinary process. So the best place to file a disciplinary complaint is with the US District Court of which your Bankruptcy Court is a part.
Second: the Bankruptcy Court must approve ALL fees of the attorney for the Debtor. If the attorney fails to complete his or her work on the case, then the attorney can either be denied all or part of her fee, or can even be ordered to disgorge part of her fee. That can be a powerful weapon for the client. You can discuss that with the US Trustee's office, as they generally supervise the attorneys' fees in bankruptcy cases. I hope this is helpful to you.
I do, however, agree, that the attorney's response to your complaint was inappropriate and potentially subject to discipline in its own right.
4 people marked this answer as good
Jonathan H Levy
Reputation Level 19
Answered over 2 years ago.
International Law Attorney in Washington, DC.
The attorney can withdraw but if this done in retaliation for you invoking the bar because the lawyer refused to communicate with you in the first place, you should make a bar ethics complaint.
4 people marked this answer as good
David Bruce Parker
Reputation Level 6
Answered over 2 years ago.
Ethics / Professional Responsibility Lawyer in Los Angeles, CA.
Every state has ethics rules that lawyers admitted in that state must honor. Every jurisdiction requires that attorneys communicate with clients concerning significant developments and to respond to client inquiries. If your lawyer is not communicating with you, you may wish to file a complaint with the state bar in your state or, perhaps before taking that step, you should ask for a meeting, sending the request through the mail, certified mail, return receipt requested. The attorney will understand you are making a record and should respond. Above all, if you do not have confidence in your attorney you should consider replacing the attorney.
3 people marked this answer as good
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