Yes, but be careful. Lawyers are not magicians. Sometimes people expect results that are impossible to deliver. What you should expect from your lawyer is timely responses to your inquiries from the lawyer or properly trained staff and honest advice on the best way for your case to proceed.
A few rules that you need to understand:
1. Lawyers cannot speak to someone already represented by counsel.
2. You can terminate your lawyer anytime, but you should make sure it is for a legitimate reason as opposed to unreasonable expectations on your part.
3. Terminating a lawyer requires no special form. It is as simple as writing to the lawyer and stating that you no longer need their services.
4. You are entitled to your file. The lawyer is entitled to reasonable time to provide your file back to you and retain a copy.
5. The lawyer will be entitled to a lien for services against a future settlement or award, but you should not be expected to pay the lawyer on termination of you signed a contingency fee agreement.
6. The lawyer also has a right to terminate the representation.
7. You are free to hire a subsequent lawyer after the previous lawyer has been terminated.
8. If the lawyer filed your case, the court will often give you a limited amount of time to get a new lawyer or proceed with your case on your own. Do not miss that deadline or your case could be dismissed.
If you find yourself without a lawyer in an injury case and don’t know what to do next, please call our office for a free consultation at 601-948-8005 or by going to our website at http://www.cglawms.com/. The consultation is free and confidential and you have no obligation to hire us.
Rogen K. Chhabra
