No, it is not ethical for an attorney to file a lawsuit for an amount not approved or authorized by the client. It is also unethical to not respond to questions by phone or email--the lawyer can certainly recommend (even strongly) a face-to-face meeting if (s)he thinks that would be more productive or helpful, but that's all the attorney can do: recommend it. At the end of the day, the lawyer *must* answer the client's questions.Remember: the lawyer works for the client, and the case is the client's case--the client controls it.As to amending a lawsuit: yes, subject to any restrictions in the court rules about when you can amend a lawsuit, how to amend it, etc., the lawsuit (the complaint) may be amended, including changing the amount filed for. (Generally, the complaint may be amended at will before the other side has filed its answer; after that, it usually requires court permission, but courts typically grant such persmission.)