Family Law Malpractice and Arbitration

**Mek** · 05-30-2012, 03:03 PM

My question involves family law malpractice in the state of California.

It also involves going to arbitration.

I had an attorney, who did several illegal actions.

As my attorney, when faced with a Motion to compel, he failed to turn over any of the documents which I gave to him to turn over, and then he failed to show me a schedule of assets and debts or even ask me to fill one out. He then goes to court with me while facing the motion to compel and says nothing at all, nothing in my defense. He outright stabs me in the back enabling opposing counsel to get sanctions against me for failing to turn over documents from a propounding. He also does not allow me to receive a "meet and confer" to answer why and what the opposing party did not receive. He purposefully does these illegal actions, and then in the following month, attempts to bill me for 13.1 hours of creating a schedule of assets and debts. This is preposterous by any knowledgeable Family Law attorney. Anyone knowledgeable knows that you cannot face a motion to compel delivery of documents and intentionally withhold a schedule of assets and debts. He needs to be sued for malpractice. My guess is that he intentionally did a Benedict Arnold and made some kind of under the table deal with opposing counsel. I can prove his misconduct through his billings. But how do I combat his actions of malevolent intent?

The schedule of assets and debts is a basic form to fill out, which I now know is one that takes less than one hour to complete. Contrary to his claims is the fact that in my own experience it is 100% necessary for the Client to write up the Schedule of Assets and Debts, as only the client can identify his/her expenses. Not only is it wrong for an attorney falsify a clients schedule of assets and debts, but now with my greater experience I know that it is impossible for an attorney to make up a clients schedule of assets and debts without the work done by the client. My former attorney at the time never showed me or gave me the schedule to write up for assets and debts. In cahoots with opposing counsel he deliberately fails to turn over a basic schedule of assets and debts, and then tries to falsify these records himself. So it now appears clear that he diabolically betrayed me to opposing counsel, and then unscrupulously tries to falsify data in order to extort money from me, his client. This is a serious offense, one which I would like to combat. If I cold I would have filed a malpractice suit towards him.

I also have to fight him in arbitration, so does anyone have any advice on what action of his to base my stance in arbitration with?

-Mek

**Mr. Knowitall** · 06-01-2012, 08:15 PM

You're asking, then, about voluntary fee arbitration? You would present whatever evidence you have that the fee is not reasonable. If the lawyer has truly billed you 13.5 hours, above and beyond court appearances and other work, for filling out a document that obviously could be completed in an hour, I would expect the document to speak for itself.

**Mek** · 06-01-2012, 09:26 PM

Have you ever went to arbitration mr Knowitall?

What can I expect and how long will mediation be?

How completely will the evidence be reviewed?

What usually happens, does one side win or lose or can the monetary amounts be split down the middle?