ASK A BACKWOODS SOUTHERN LAWYER
My lawyer is a ________. (You fill in the blank. The options are endless. Literally everything from a - - - hole to zealot). Can I fire him or her?
First, this month’s joke:
An old farmer waited until somewhat late in life to get married and was driving his new bride from the church in a horse drawn carriage. The horse
stumbled on a mud puddle. The old man got out of the buggy, looked the horse directly in the eye and said, “That’s one.”
As they traveled on, the horse stumbled again and once again, the old man got out of the carriage, looked the horse in the eye, and said, “That’s two.”
As they went further down the road the horse stumbled once again and the old man pulled out his revolver and shot the horse directly between the eyes.
His new bride cried out, “You cruel man, how could you kill that poor defenseless animal?” The farmer looked at his bride and said, “That’s one.”
If you hired someone to mow your lawn or paint your house and were dissatisfied with the job they were doing, you would not hesitate to fire them.
Lawyers are really no different, and within the boundaries of ethical considerations and professional courtesies, we work for you. If you are dissatisfied,
talk to us and if still not satisfied, you can terminate the relationship. Keep in mind that on many occasions the attorney may have advanced costs
(medical records, filing fees, etc.) and those are still your responsibility. Also, if the attorney was working on a contingent fee and actually has time in the
case, he or she can file a lien against your ultimate recovery.
A tactic often tried by criminal defendants is to fire their attorney on the eve of trial. That almost never works, as the court can force you to go forward
with that attorney or simply be unrepresented. That can also happen in a civil case and you simply get no advantage from waiting to the last minute to
make that decision. You will, however, p - - - the judge off and that is never good.
If you do decide to fire your attorney, it is always advisable to do it in writing. A complete list of what you consider his or her deficiencies is unnecessary
and usually counter-productive. A short note that simply says I have decided to terminate our relationship effective ____ is enough. You need to keep in
mind that the attorney-client relationship is a two way street and he or she can also fire you.
Any lawyer who has been doing this for any period of time has had to deal with a disgruntled client. Usually it is due to unrealistic expectations which
the attorney should have corrected at their first meeting. I once had a client who became absolutely irate when I told him that the lawsuit we had filed
on Friday afternoon would not be on the calendar for trial Monday morning. I take full responsibility for not explaining to him the facts of life and the
way the judicial system actually functions.
A dissatisfactory lawyer-client relationship is very much like a bad marriage. It is not going to improve and it is to everyone’s advantage to simply pull
the plug. Please do so before you get to Number 3.
32 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | MAY 2019
By Franklin Edenfield