When to Fire your Personal Injury Attorney and Look for a New One

When to Fire your Personal Injury Attorney and Look for a New One

Just like you have the right to hire an attorney for legal representation in any type of personal injury case, you also have the right to fire them if it’s not working out. If you are unhappy with the legal services of your current personal injury attorney, you may consider getting a second legal opinion, and end your client-attorney relationship. However, before you think about switching to a new personal injury attorney, you need to ask yourself why this measure is necessary.

Several problems can arise between a client and an attorney, resulting from situations such as:

  • Attorney’s inadequate attention to your case
  • High, unreasonable fees and lawsuit costs
  • Unprofessional attitude
  • You question the attorney’s ability to handle your case
  • Disagreement with the attorney on crucial aspects of your case
  • Unfavorable court decisions
  • The attorney doesn’t properly communicate with you on potential matters

When one or more of the above problems occur, it may be a good time to consider changing your personal injury attorney.

How to Fire Your Personal Injury Attorney

When you decide to fire your personal injury attorney, you should do it in the following way,in order to avoid any potential conflicts.

The first thing you should look at is the legal services contract with your attorney. Carefully go through it, and see if there is any provision that dictates a certain procedure for terminating client-attorney relationship. If there is one, it is very important that you follow it to avoid any trouble in the future.

As soon as you decide to change your personal injury attorney, hire a new attorney prior to firing the current one. This is because if you fire your existing attorney first, you will have no choice but to handle any legal issues, which may arise during the transition period, on your own. These issues can potentially harm your case and make it difficult for the new personal injury attorney to handle.

The third step is to write a formal letter and send it to your current personal injury attorney via a certified mail. The letter should explain the reasons for terminating your client-attorney relationship. It should be straightforward and clearly indicate the termination. You may also request your attorney to hand over the case files to you or the new attorney, and include necessary contact information as well. If there is any balance that you are liable to pay or you paid in advance, you may mention them in this letter.

When you are notifying your attorney for substitution or suspension of legal counsel, you will have to inform the court as well if the status of your case is pending.

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The Cost of Hiring a New Attorney

You may be thinking that changing attorneys will cost you more, but to relieve you of this worry, it won’t. After the settlement, you will have to pay only the fees of a single attorney, which will then be divided among the attorneys that represented you during the case.

If you are not happy with your current personal injury attorney and want to hire a new one, you should contact the Law Offices of Robert T. Edens, P.C. at (847) 395-2200 or online today to schedule a consultation.

Call today for a free consultation

(847) 395-2200