Michael Paul Bishop

We hired this lawyer to represent our firm in a subcontractor breach of contract dispute on 1/18/2016. We then proceeded to an unsuccessful mediation with the subcontractor. I hired the lawyer since he was considered a mediation expert by his peers but after the unsuccessful mediation, I would disagr...ee. Thereafter he withdrew as my attorney mainly because he wanted me to settle for a large amount of money without providing a viable reason to settle. When I hired him initially, I was very clear that we may proceed with the trial if we had an unsuccessful mediation. By him withdrawing without a good and specific reason made us look unfavorable to the judge. The judge thought something had to be wrong with us as the client when the lawyer withdrew from the case. It also left us very vulnerable where we had to rush to find new representation when we needed dire help to avoid adverse consequences. Also, this lawyer did not take the time to help solve our problem. We had to come up with our own solution which cleared the cloud on the property and we were able to get ALL undisputed subs paid. Ultimately, we did successfully settle with the disputed sub but at a much lower amount with a highly ethical and experienced lawyer. Can a lawyer withdraw from a case? Yes, but this can create ethical issues when I believe this lawyer withdrew for other reasons unknown and unclear. Disagreement of when to settle should not be used as an excuse to withdraw from a case. Unless the client is willfully refusing to pay or there are reasons which are more specific which both parties fundamentally disagree, I believe that the attorney has an obligation, ethical or moral, to finish out the representation.