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  1. #1

    Default Lawyer Unprepared for Trial

    My question involves medical malpractice in the state of: Illinois

    I live in the state of Texas and have been pursuing a child custody modification case with an attorney in Illinois, where my son is currently living with the CP. I hired him in November of 2010 and paid him a hefty sum of money up front. It took him a year and a half to even set a hearing date and that was only after constant badgering from me WHEN I could reach him via phone calls. Often, it would be more than a week before I could even reach him. During this entire time, I have had to hand feed him as if he doesn't even know how to practice law at all. He always tries to get me off the phone within 10 seconds and evades all of my questions. I have spoken to him less than an hour in a year and a half. So, he may have earned $500 of my retainer, if that.

    Our hearing was set to occur on May the fourth of this year, but despite all the evidence I had accumulated over the past 3 years, he had not prepared to use it ( hadn't even LOOKED at it as of this past Wednesday) and told me he only planned to question me and my husband on the stand. The opposing counsel, however, would have had at least 4 witnesses present in the court room. We knew about the upcoming hearing at the beginning of February of this year and it wasn't until this past Wednesday that my attorney informed me he could not record my witness testimonies and they had to appear in court. With less than 3 weeks notice, that was impossible. I might also mention he asked me for my witnesses phone numbers on Monday of this week (again, only after begging him to) and I gave them to him with the thought that he planned to actually do something. But my witnesses called to tell me he didn't say anything to them other than tell them they had to be in the court room. Both of those conversations lasted less than a minute combined.

    Upon careful contemplation and after coming to the conclusion this guy is TOTALLY unprepared, I decided to try and reach him and ask if we could file a motion of continuance so I would have more time to figure out how to light a fire under his rear. He immediately told me the opposing counsel "wouldn't go for that" and suggested I vacate the case entirely without discussing what he planned to do later or the possible ramifications of this, once again, attempting to get me off the phone as fast as possible. In fact, he was so adamant about it, I felt put on the spot and, hesitantly, agreed. He told me he would handle it the next day and hung up. By the time I thought about my harried decision and finally reached him again the very same day, he had already mailed out the motion to vacate. I was and am very upset and question why he acted on this so fast on this when it took him many, many months to do anything else.

    Before anyone says, just hire another lawyer allow me to say the following........ First, that is out of the question. I had to sell my car to be able to pay this attorney and don't have any way to get a huge lump sum of money together again. He was my one shot at this unless I can get my money back. Second, I feel that when you pay someone to a job, you are entitled to have that job done properly and without the need to tell them every step of the way what to do especially when you hired them because you don't KNOW what to do. Thanks in advance for any thoughts concerning this.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Behind a Desk
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    98,846

    Default Re: Lawyer Unprepared for Trial

    What is it that you hope to accomplish? If you don't hire a different lawyer you will be going forward with this lawyer. Presumably you have been receiving billing statements over the past 18 months, so if you believe something is incorrectly billed you can discuss that with your lawyer.

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