My lawyer won’t return my calls; my lawyer won’t tell me why my case is taking so long; my lawyer wants me to take a settlement that I don’t think is fair; my lawyer is rude to me; I never get to talk to my lawyer only his secretary. The bottom line is your lawyer works for you and that should mean that he or she is doing everything possible to look out for your interests and get you the best settlement. Your lawyer should answer your questions and should return your phone calls. Every case is unique, so there is no set timeline, but you have a right to know what is being done.
When a lawyer fails to handle your case the way you expect, you have a right to end the representation and get a new lawyer. You will have to put it in writing that you are ending the representation and the lawyer must give your file to you or your new lawyer. Generally, when your new lawyer settles your case, the old lawyer will be paid for the reasonable value of his/her services up to the time the old lawyer was terminated. In most accident cases, your new lawyer will pay the old lawyer out of the percentage attorney fee. In most cases, when you hire a new lawyer, you won’t have to pay anymore in attorney fees than if you kept the old lawyer. For example, if you were to pay the old lawyer 1/3, and the new lawyer takes your case for 1/3, then when your case settles, you pay the new lawyer 1/3 and out of the 1/3 the new lawyer pays the old lawyer.