Way OT: Advice on some attorney ineptitude.

Submitted by pastor_of_muppets on February 13th, 2024 at 3:09 PM

Too long, won't read: I'm unhappy with an attorney and I am curious about options for recourse, if any.

 

I'm going to post this here for various reasons: 1). I have zero total experience in my life with anything related to the law and I am totally ignorant to how any of this works. 2). I'm not a member of all that many public forums and out of all the forums I am present on the members here seem, by far, the most savvy to legal topics. 3). I've Googled myself silly over the past few days and the results are watery at best. 4). This is also all taking place in Michigan, so what better place than a Michigan-centric board? Hopefully my rationale checks out and I apologize for the off-topic post and what I think will wind up being long-windedness. 

The situation, in a nutshell, is this - my wife had hired an attorney (in November 2023) for what started as some pretty straight-forward custody agreement changes and has slowly morphed into something a little more complicated. About two weeks ago she decided she wasn't happy with mentioned attorneys performance and decided to go to a different attorney for the duration of the case.

The original attorney was all over the place. If I had to sum it all up I'd say that the work that was done was largely unorganized and/or incomplete. She would have trouble with or flat out wouldn't remember names, dates or events surrounding the case. She had written numerous letters or emails that completely left out or even altered certain happenings. At least one document that she had written actually had to be amended because of names being incorrect. She even charged us for the amendment and later on in a letter (which she charged us $95 to draft and send) apologized for the misstep and finished out the letter by asking for more money. Said letter was quite embarrassing in itself, rife with historical inaccuracies, grammatical errors and a decorative frame on all three pages that would make my teenage daughter blush. Overall I'd say that any sort of meaningful communication was lacking and it wasn't attributable to the effort of my wife. She's been totally on top of everything that's transpired.

The issue isn't necessarily the cost so much as the principal. I don't want to pay any more than what I have to for what I perceive as extremely shoddy work. My wife paid the original retainer and after that was dried up was right around when she cut ties. The new attorney took it upon herself to "get rid" of the old attorney and I expected a final bill to come in the mail soon after. It certainly did and I can't make much difference of anything on the bill to dispute anything that has happened along the way, but one thing I know for sure is that the former attorney is charging us for an hours worth of work after she'd been "substituted" (fired). It's about 5 or 6 various rinky-dink charges that add up to an hours worth of work. Review and sign substitution paperwork - .2 hours, email client and new attorney about paperwork - .2 hours, file paperwork - .2 hours, etc. 

I have a few questions in relation to this experience.

1). Are we truly on the hook for any costs incurred after we employed another attorney and the original was informed of being off the case?

2). Does any of what I've described add up to any sort of meaningful misconduct or incompetence that could warrant any sort of formal complaint? Obviously when everything is said and done I'll blast the firm on Google reviews but curious if there's anything more that can be done.

3). Should this be a diary?

 

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Blue1972

February 13th, 2024 at 3:17 PM ^

Some times you have to think like Frozen and "Let it Go."

Your time spent, frustration and aggravation and relatively low amount of dollars involved are not worth  pursuing and would only lead to more frustration.

You may be in the right, but sometimes you have to let it go.

While you may be right regarding the principle of the matter, it ain't worth pursuing. Would not even spend the time and effort in filing a complaint.

Move on.

Joined: 09/12/2010

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TIMMMAAY

February 13th, 2024 at 5:18 PM ^

Agree, for me, even the effort of a post like this would be too much. If we were talking thousands of dollars, sure, but one hour? So somewhere between $300-500? Let it go. It ain't worth the headache. This is coming from someone who has paid an ungodly amount of money to attorneys recently, with low five figures worth of things I didn't think I should/would be paying for. So it goes. It's a fight you aren't winning, so just cut losses and move on. 

All of the lawyer jokes seem trite and self serving, until you're in that kind of situation. Now they all ring bitterly true to me. Live and learn. 

Joined: 09/08/2008

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1989 UM GRAD

February 13th, 2024 at 3:18 PM ^

As best as I can tell, you are looking for advice about whether you should pay for one hour of work.  Yes?

If so, pay the bill and move on.  

I am not an attorney, but no credible attorney could give you advice based on your general description of what occurred.

Not only shouldn't this be a diary, it probably shouldn't have been posted here.  

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mGrowOld

February 13th, 2024 at 3:23 PM ^

Not only shouldn't this be a diary, it probably shouldn't have been posted here.  

I dunno about that.  During the temporary restraining order kerfuffle I came to the conclusion that one out of every three posters here was, in fact, a practicing attorney and seemingly pretty damn good ones.

As far as to pay or not pay I agree - you pay and move on.  The shitty lawyer has more ready access to the legal system than you do, probably more time on her hands and even shitty lawyers become pretty effective when it comes to getting paid.  Plus the odds of you finding another attorney to file a malpractice suit against her is extremely low so I'd just consider it a lesson learned, pay the small amount and call  it a day.

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Couzen Rick's

February 13th, 2024 at 3:30 PM ^

I dunno about that.  During the temporary restraining order kerfuffle I came to the conclusion that one out of every three posters here was, in fact, a practicing attorney and seemingly pretty damn good ones.
 

another third are doctors lol. On Twitter a Michigan fan posted a question about a dosage of antibiotics and like three Michigan MDs responded. 

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BoFan

February 13th, 2024 at 4:24 PM ^

I told a reputable attorney they overcharged me and they agreed to a lesser amount.  Given you are talking about an hour, pay and move on.  But appealing directly can work too.  If they have bills to pay, i.e. they have trouble keeping clients, they probably wont budge.  I assume they can’t bill you for the time to dispute a bill?

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Goggles Paisano

February 13th, 2024 at 3:18 PM ^

I doubt you are "on the hook" for the small amount you owe her.  She can send you invoices til the cows come home, but she will likely not come after you for that small amount.  I would just circular file them and move on with your life.  

Joined: 07/30/2011

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MgoHillbilly

February 13th, 2024 at 11:27 PM ^

I'm not sure how it's done in Michigan, but I'm guessing it might be possible the attorney puts a lien on your file (by refusing to turn it over) or on your cause of action.

That said, every time I've substituted as counsel on a case I've never had a client billed by prior counsel for turning their file over. Weak sauce. I'd probably pay it if she insists and file a bar complaint if I were in your shoes. If it doesn't get any traction, oh well. At least you ran your complaint up the legal flagpole.

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Hemlock Philosopher

February 14th, 2024 at 7:11 AM ^

Yes, this seems most reasonable. Things people seeking clients hate: Negative reviews (Google, etc.) and complaints against their business (Bar, State boards, BBB). You could just contact the firm and ask to drop the bill for the reasons you stated above, or your recourse will be to go public and contact the Bar Association. 

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Jack Be Nimble

February 13th, 2024 at 3:27 PM ^

1) Without details it's impossible to say for sure. But I think you probably are on the hook. Inasmuch as these were necessary tasks to close out the case, I don't think it's surprising that an attorney charged for them, though I understand that it seems unfair given the change is happening due to the attorney's incompetence.

2) It might be. If you would like to submit a complaint, the Michigan Bar Association has a mechanism for that: https://www.michbar.org/professional/disciplinary

3) I think the board post is probably fine.

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HighBeta

February 13th, 2024 at 3:39 PM ^

Been here, done this: not worth the aggravation.

Pay the small bill with an on check memo noting "end of services"; sigh; find a firm or individual that gets/does it right and stick with him/her for whatever you need going forward. Good attorneys, like good doctors - or head coaches - are important to find and retain.

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XM - Mt 1822

February 13th, 2024 at 4:11 PM ^

HB, as usual, has wise advice.  i will say though, i don't know any lawyers that would file suit against their former client for the $2-300 you don't want to pay.   their malpractice carrier will ask them if they're suing clients for fees, and if so, that's a factor they'll use to raise their insurance rates.  

lawyers/doctors/mechanics/contractors - find a good one and you have done well.  4 of the biggest, most frequent, and/or most important areas of your life.  

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Bryan

February 13th, 2024 at 5:24 PM ^

This. When you have your annual review with your malpractice carrier you get to check the box on whether you’ve sued a client for fees. Never had to check that box. Your grievance rate goes up when you sue a former client.  
 

I would pay it, but it’s unlikely they’ll go after your wife. It’s just not worth it. Especially for someone that couldn’t keep the file straight. If the former attorney is a solo, then it’s even more unlikely. 

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Yinka Double Dare

February 13th, 2024 at 3:40 PM ^

Yes, the work done in order to transfer the file is still billable.

In addition to online reviews, she can always file a complaint with the state bar. It doesn't seem to rise to the level of malpractice but there's a fair bit of unprofessional from what you describe. State bar might not do anything as it might not violate the rules other than the really general ones regarding professionalism, but I don't know the specifics.

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bronxblue

February 13th, 2024 at 3:42 PM ^

There are a lot of mediocre-to-bad attorneys out there who still practice; I haven't worked as an attorney for going on 15 years but I could still technically hang a shingle in either MI or NY and legally work and chances are my clients, if desperate enough, wouldn't really know the difference beyond the fact I'd be pretty shitty at the task.

If the attorney was charging you for a ton of additional hours I'd say fight it but if it's just for an hour I'd sadly say eat the cost and treat it as a learning lesson.  Or not pay and bet on not being hounded for it, but the one thing I'll say about attorneys (especially bad ones) is they want to get paid and if you get dragged into court over failure to pay it'll cost you more (at least in terms of time) than the invoice to get it resolved, even in your favor.

But yeah, it sucks to pay for incompetence, and frankly a good attorney would eat the cost of fixing his/her mistakes.  

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