L. Katherine Adams-Carter

L. Adams-Carter

The Rules of Professional Conduct do not allow me to disclose privileged communications with Carol concerning her case. However, her comments above show that she does not understand the process. A case that is not "final", cannot be "appealed". Therefore, it would have been impossible for me to mislead her on how to "appeal", if the case were not over, and she indicates above the case was still ongoing at the time she made the post. As to my withdrawal, the Court Rules provide a specific way in which an attorney is allowed to withdraw, and the attorney must follow that Rule before the Court will allow an attorney to withdraw. That Rule includes a specific notice to the client as to the client's rights and what the client must do if he or she objects to the withdrawal. The Judge would not have signed an Order allowing my withdrawal if I had not complied with that Rule. Also, if someone is involved in a contested divorce, (as clearly she was because she states she wanted to "appeal") then that case is not going to be over in the time span of a few months. The Rules allow the parties a six month discovery period, and the final disposition of the case depends in large part on the calendars of the Court, (the Judges who must also hear criminal cases and are required by the Constitution to hear criminal cases in a timely manner) the attorneys, and the parties. Expecting a contested case to be over in a matter of months, or to be an inexpensive endeavor, are both unrealistic expectations. If a client disagrees with the fees an attorney charges, then the State Bar of Georgia has a program which allows for the free arbitration of fee disputes with an attorney, so if Carol or any other client every felt they were charged unfairly, this is a process that would have been available to him/her free of charge to address that issue. And lastly, if someone is not happy with his or her attorney, I would submit that it is in the client's best interest for that attorney to withdraw and allow the client to find someone he or she may feel more comfortable with. To complain about the way one's attorney handles one's case, then complaining about that same attorney withdrawing from your case when you have expressed your unhappiness is contradictory.