File a Complaint Agains an Attorney in Colorado

Here are some strategies designed to get results from a less than helpful lawyer.

It is frustrating when you are dissatisfied with your lawyer or her piece of work -- peculiarly if you don't know what to practice about it. Here are some strategies for dealing with common problems that arise during legal representation.

The Lawyer Won't Communicate

This distressingly common problem doesn't have an easy solution. A lawyer who doesn't return phone calls or communicate with yous for an extended period of time may be guilty of abandoning you -- a violation of attorneys' upstanding obligations. But that'southward for a bar association to determine (if y'all register a complaint), and information technology won't do you much good in the short term.

If your lawyer doesn't seem to be working on your case, sending a polite just firm letter laying out your concerns should get your lawyer's attention. Don't threaten to file a malpractice lawsuit or complain to the bar association; such threats will probably make your lawyer angry and defensive, not circumspect.

If your lawyer does not respond, or subsequent meetings or conversations are not fruitful, consider suggesting arbitration to work out your communication problems if y'all withal want this lawyer to represent y'all. A bad deskside manner doesn't hateful that the lawyer isn't an excellent lawyer, and it can exist difficult to notice a new one in the middle of a case.

If you lot conclude that you merely tin't work with your lawyer anymore, fire your lawyer and find someone new. You may also want to take a second lawyer evaluate your first lawyer'south deportment and advise you about paying (or refusing to pay) any bill you receive, filing a complaint with your country lawyer discipline bureau, or suing the lawyer for malpractice.

The Lawyer Is Dishonest or Totally Incompetent

If your lawyer has actually stolen from y'all or acted with gross incompetence, the authorities in accuse of disciplining lawyers in your state should bear witness some interest.

File a Complaint With Your State's Lawyer Subject field Bureau

Every state has an agency responsible for licensing and disciplining lawyers. In most states, it's the bar association; in others, the state supreme court. The bureau is most likely to take activeness if your lawyer has failed to pay you money that you won in a settlement or lawsuit, made some egregious error such equally failing to testify upwardly in court, didn't do legal work yous paid for, committed a criminal offence, or has a drug or alcohol corruption problem.

Unfortunately, these state agencies are famous for moving at a wearisome footstep, not pursuing complaints vigorously, and communicating poorly with people who file complaints. Still, it is important to study a legal skunk. Many agencies expect until they have several like complaints about a particular attorney earlier taking activeness.

Getting Compensated

Land bar associations are primarily concerned with punishing lawyers (though rarely severely), not compensating clients. But all states except Maine, New United mexican states, and Tennessee do have funds from which they may reimburse clients whose attorneys stole from them.

If You're Concerned About the Lawyer's Piece of work

Information technology's often hard for a client to know whether or not a lawyer is doing a skillful job. But if yous think your lawyer's power leaves something to be desired, investigate -- earlier it's too late.

Communicate

If your lawyer doesn't seem to be working on your instance, talk to your lawyer and explain your concerns.

Get Your File

If you tin can't find out what has (and has not) been washed, you need to get concur of your file. You can read it in your lawyer's part or ask your lawyer to send y'all copies of everything -- all correspondence and everything filed with the court or recorded with a regime agency.

If you've already ended your relationship with the lawyer, you lot need your file pronto to brand sure all deadlines are met, mistakes are repaired, and the affair keeps moving. If the lawyer is unresponsive and the matter involves a lawsuit, go to the courthouse and expect at your example file, which contains all the papers that have really been filed with the court.

If y'all've hired a new lawyer, ask her for help in getting your file. Besides, enquire your country bar association for assistance. If that doesn't work, as a last resort you lot may demand to sue your lawyer in small claims courtroom, asking the court for money to recoup y'all for what y'all've spent on redoing work in the file or trying to get the file.

Inquiry

If you're not satisfied with your lawyer'southward strategy decisions or with the arguments the lawyer has been making on your behalf, y'all may even want to go to the constabulary library and exercise some reading to brainwash yourself nigh your legal problem.

Go a 2nd Opinion

If you've got serious doubts almost how your case is being handled, see a second attorney. Second opinions are relatively inexpensive -- an hour or two of a lawyer'due south time spent talking to you plus any fourth dimension spent reviewing papers. And they are ofttimes very valuable in helping you decide whether to stay with your current lawyer or change to someone meliorate suited to the task.

The more than you tin tell and show the 2d lawyer nearly your instance, the meliorate advice you will get about whether your case is existence handled correctly and what might be washed differently. Keep in mind, though, that no 2 lawyers handle a instance in exactly the same style, and that a second stance is normally a cursory review, non a comprehensive analysis.

Fire Your Lawyer

It'due south your absolute correct to fire your lawyer at any time for any reason. Give it serious consideration if you're convinced the lawyer is doing a bad chore or if your relationship with the lawyer has become intolerable.

But dumping a bad lawyer tin can be expensive. If you hire a new lawyer, you'll have to pay him or her to go upwards to speed on your case. If the first lawyer hasn't done much, this shouldn't cost a lot. Simply if you accept a trial scheduled for three weeks from now, your new lawyer will have a monumental and fourth dimension-consuming task.

Sue for Malpractice

If y'all lost money because of the way your lawyer handled your case, consider suing for malpractice. Know, yet, that it is not an like shooting fish in a barrel task. You must prove 2 things:

• your lawyer messed up and

• you would have won your case otherwise.

Information technology's not enough to show that your lawyer fabricated a fault -- you lot must show that the mistake caused you financial loss that you would not have suffered if your lawyer had handled your case properly in the offset identify.

If you want to sue for legal malpractice, do it every bit quickly as possible. A common defense raised by attorneys sued for malpractice is that the client waited likewise long to sue. And considering this expanse of the law can be surprisingly complicated and confusing, in that location's ofttimes plenty of room for statement.

Legal malpractice cases are expensive to pursue, and so do some investigating before yous dive in. At that place'southward no point in suing if the lawyer doesn't accept either malpractice insurance or valuable assets from which to pay you if y'all win.

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Source: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/problems-with-lawyer-tips-strategies-29925.html

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