Unfortunately, not all attorneys are competitive and worthy enough of your trust. Consequently, if you are not satisfied with the way your attorney handles your case, then you may terminate his services and look for other attorney to manage your legal problem.
Then you should think over the following before making a decision:
Why are you going to fire your attorney? What should be your foundation for it?
Most attorneys abide by the rules set by their respective Bar Associations. But, some still select to infringe these basic rules:
1. Establishing a good communication with a client
2. Returning the important documents to a client after using it as evidences
3. Protecting the assets of a client
4. Misrepresentation
5. Overcharging or breakdown to disclose complete information regarding the payment of fees
6. Breakdown to perform the accepted approach in handling a client’s case
7. Conflict of interest
How to file a complaint
Legal clients who wish to dismiss their attorneys may bring their complaints to the State Disciplinary Counsel in which their attorneys are listed and duly licensed. The State Bar Association will ask them why they want to fire their attorneys. They will have to fill up a form that should contain a brief detail of their reasons. This should also include the attorney's name, address, contact number and a short story on how they have appointed the services of their attorneys.
How are these complaints resolved?
The Disciplinary Counsel will form a panel of lawyers and non-lawyers to review it. But this will be done after receiving a client complaint. But if this board sees a foundation for the said complaint, the reported attorney will be given a copy of the complaint and will be asked to submit his response within 25 days.
Many states allow the complainants to give their comments on the attorney's response and demand for further investigation to begin. So, once the investigation has proven the guilt of the defendant attorney, he will then have to face a diversity of sanctions, which may rely on the harshness of his offense. However, serious cases will automatically be brought to a hearing wherein further questioning and filing of evidences will take place. And those attorneys who will be proven guilty of such grave accusations will be disbarred and may even have to face criminal liabilities for their violations.
How is the client's anonymity protected?
Anonymous cases, allowed in some states especially when the issue has great effect on public interest, help to protect the complainant from the defendant's retribution. But due to the importance of documentation in such cases, most states do not allow such provisions.
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