What to do if you want to change your attorney

Choosing the right attorney for your case is an essential part of any legal process. However, no matter how careful you are, you may still choose the wrong person for the job and end up feeling uncomfortable working with the attorney.

Maybe you are frustrated because the lawyer is not returning your calls or is not making an effort to actually solve your case. Perhaps the lawyer isn’t good enough, and you simply don’t trust him or her anymore. Whatever the reason may be, you might want to start considering changing your attorney to get the results you need. However, you may be wondering if you can switch your attorney in the middle of your case and how you can go about doing so.

You should keep in mind that you are still solely responsible for your legal affairs even if you hired an attorney. Therefore, you will have the right to change your attorney at any point in your legal process. However, there are certain things you should keep in mind before proceeding.

Read on to learn the main reasons why you might want to replace your attorney, other essential things you should know about this process, and how a legal website can make things significantly easier for you.

Why would you want to fire your attorney?

Some relationships are not forever. Even attorney-client relationships can break down for many different causes. Some of the main reasons you may want to fire your attorney are the following:

The attorney isn’t calling you back: Poor communication is a common reason people fire their lawyers. If you’ve called the attorney nonstop for a few days to get updates on your case, but no one at the law firm has returned your calls, it is understandable that you feel frustrated and upset.

Try to be patient. Wait a couple of days for the lawyer to call you back. If this doesn’t happen, switching attorneys may be the best decision.

You don’t trust the attorney: For best results, the attorney-client relationship must be based on trust. If the lawyer has made mistakes during the process or hasn’t guided you correctly, you may lose faith in their judgment. In these cases, changing the lawyer may be the only thing that will make you feel secure again.

The attorney got into ethical troubles: Although very rare, this is still a possibility. If your lawyer gets into trouble during your legal process and ends up losing his or her law license, you may be forced to find another lawyer quickly.

You’re not getting the results you need: Unfortunately, there are bad lawyers out there. If your first attorney lacks the skill or expertise to help you solve your legal problem, you may want to start looking for a more experienced replacement.

Would it cost you extra money?

Hiring a new attorney will not cost you extra money in some cases. If you hired your first attorney on a contingency basis, the attorney would receive a percentage of the money you get from your legal claim. When you hire a new attorney, both legal professionals would have to share this fee. They will split it depending on the work they each performed during the case.

Disadvantages of switching attorneys

There are some significant disadvantages to changing your attorney in the middle of your case:

•   The new attorney may need time to get up to speed on your case, especially if it is very complicated.
•   Your former attorney may be slow to turn over your case file if the breakup wasn’t amicable.
•   If you replaced your lawyer just because the law wasn’t on your side, things won’t change no matter how many times you do it.
•   In certain situations, you may have to pay more money to have another lawyer take your case.

Steps to change your attorney

If you have decided that you must change your lawyer to get the results you need, here are the steps you should take.

First, make sure you find a replacement before you fire your lawyer. Look for an experienced attorney near you with the expertise to help you solve your legal problem. You don’t want to change your lawyer again, so choose carefully.

After that, notify your previous attorney of your decision. If you don’t want to do it yourself, you can ask your new lawyer to send him or her a letter for you.

Remember to ask for your case file. This is the only way to know what has been done during your legal proceedings. Again, you can ask your new lawyer to request it on your behalf.

It is wise to pay the pending fees before you make the change. There may be a lien placed on the money you could receive from your legal claim if you don’t.

You may want to consider working with Legal Facts

As you have learned, changing your attorney can be inconvenient and problematic, but it doesn’t have to be this way. You should be in complete control of your legal situation all the time. At https://legalfacts.org/, that is precisely what you can do.

On this legal platform, you will have access to a handy tool, the attorney dashboard. Here, you will see everything your lawyer has been doing for you and what he or she is waiting for. You won’t have to call incessantly to get updates, as you will have access to them at all times.

Also, if you are unhappy with your lawyer, Legal Facts provides straightforward options to deal with the situation.

Initially, you can request to have another legal professional help your attorney handle your case. But if this isn’t what you want, you can completely replace your lawyer with the click of a button; it’s that simple.

After five replacements from 5 different users, Legal Facts delists the lawyers entirely from their platform. That way, they make sure to only work with excellent attorneys who bring satisfying results for their clients.