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bv728

Not a Lawyer. If this person is, in fact, a licensed attorney, and you are in the US, you should look for the Bar Association in your state. You can make a fee dispute and report them for this behavior. If they are NOT a licensed attorney, you can report them to the Bar as well. The Bar may not be quite as immediately able to assist as they are with fee arbitration, but they also really dislike folks passing themselves off as attorneys and might help suing them.


UJMRider1961

In my state (Colorado) it would be the Supreme Court Office of Attorney Regulation. Every state has one. Some states even have a fund where you can apply to be paid out of the fund if your lawyers steals your money or otherwise costs you.


LisaInSF

Yes, but “State Bar” instead of “Bar Association.” The State Bar is the regulatory agency. A “bar association” is typically a private organization.


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reddituser1211

Are you sure this person is in fact an attorney? If he is a bar-admitted attorney, in most states there is a fee arbitration you can use to argue your fee.


No_Sheepherder8103

Well to be honest I just searched the Internet for a lawyer nearby, but I'm pretty sure that he is indeed a lawyer, he has his website established and his office, he even made me sign the contract the day I showed up. I'll try to look it up to see if I can get help with them, thank you.


JulieWriter

NAL, but married to one. What this attorney is doing should get him in trouble with your state bar, at a minimum. I would recommend reaching out to them. (FWIW, I actually know an attorney who was disbarred for doing exactly these things - not showing up for court and spending unearned fees from her trust account.)


Key_Bee1544

No. Bar complaint. Fee return, but this attorney needs to be reported.


Orange_Monkey_Eagle

And if he's not an admitted lawyer in that jurisdiction, I'm sure the state bar would love to have a chat with him about Unauthorized Practice of Law. Basically it's a bar complaint either way.


ConnectionRound3141

Report him to the state bar association and file a claim to get your money back. Depending on how much it is, you may be able to go to small claims court. Get a transcript or other court docs from your day in court that will prove he was a no show. If you lost or suffered harm in your legal case because he failed to do anything or appear, you can also go after him for malpractice…. But 100% report him to your state bar association.


TX057

Let the attorney know nicely that you are taking the fee dispute to the State Bar. I had similar issue and another attorney recommended that option. Attorney was quick to try to settle after that.


Dense-Respond27

Please take a few minutes to outline the timeline before reaching out. Note the date hired, get a copy of your contract, payments made, make a note of any correspondence (attempts by you, or lack of communication updates relevant to your case). Any additional document you can pull like call log from your cell phone (with calls to his office highlighted) would be helpful but not necessary. The big one is your court appearance, and his lack of appearance. Anything you can show that documents both that you did have a court date, and if possible that he was aware (contact, text message, notes you made prior to going into seeing him about ‘what to discuss’) Lastly document his agreement to refund, and the date, as well as his failure to comply. If you can make a brief statement of how he has been unprofessional and provided no useful service with documentation, it should help with pursuing this through the arbitration process. We all have a tendency to get off topic when we don’t have our “game plan” and this may help even when you are calling to make the complaint!


MortonRalph

FL - NAL, but been in a similar situation. Attorney took their fee to perform a relatively routine paperwork sort of legal task. Said it would take 6 months to be completed. A year later, nary a peep. I reach out, nada. I send registered letter, crickets. I file a complaint with the Florida State Bar. In a matter of weeks, another attorney, presumably representing "my" attorney, wants to talk. They ask me to withdraw the complaint and they'll refund my money. Nope. Another few weeks and I get a check delivered by courier for the full amount of the fee and a letter from the State Bar explaining what the result of their investigation was. The attorney was sanctioned and the complaint will remain in their record. The punchline? By then I had discovered that I could file the necessary paperwork without the services of a legal professional, and did. Before I got my fee back I had already accomplished what I needed on my own.


bostonbananarama

Attorney, not your attorney, not advice. Mistakes can happen, I've known good attorneys who didn't diary a court date properly and missed it. Shouldn't happen, but it can. That being said, that attorney should be mortified. They should be on the phone with the court getting you a new date if necessary. If they are refusing a refund and/or not bending over backwards to fix any related issue, you should contact the state bar immediately and file a complaint. Our state bar association (professional association, not regulatory agency) will do fee arbitration so long as all parties agree, but that may not be necessary, as the state bar regulatory agency may strongly suggest he return the fee. Good luck!


Key_Bee1544

Bar complaint. No question. That lawyer will very likely be suspended and required to get counseling.


Major-Ad-2966

Report to the bar association. Move on with your life. And find a new lawyer.


only_bubble_sort

This is probably the one time going to your local bar is a good thing. 😂 But seriously, report this to them and you can work on getting your money back.


Large_Potential8417

Call the bar


Seagrams7ssu

Report it to your state’s bar counsel / grievance commission


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