Recent Feedback
I had a court date in 2004 which my lawyer failed to notify me about. This was in the middle of child support hearing's and apparently my lawyer was notified by mail of the date and time. As a result of the hearing, I was held responsible for about $7,800 in laywer fee's to the opposing attorney. It is still not paid, and today that fee is over $10,000 because of interest. The opposing lawyer contacted me and threatened wage garnishments in the excess of $370/month which I simply cannot afford. I discovered my lawyers excuse for not attending the hearing was because I was unreachable. This is not true. And he also knew I was responsible for the fee during the child support hearing but never told me and kept it a secret. I later found out months after the fact when the Sheriff's dept. sent me a letter. At the time, I was protected because more than 30% child support garnishments were taken from my pay. Today I am not protected. Can my lawyer be held responsible for any?
Optional Information: State/Country of Question: New York Already Tried: I haven't tried anything. The only thing I have done is obtain the court records of the date and time of the hearing to see if it really happened.
Can my lawyer be held responsible for any?
Response: Maybe. You need to send a written notice to your former Lawyer regarding this other lawyer's fees and the attorney's responsibility for paying the fees because of the reasons that you stated. If the attorney refuses to pay or ignores your correspondence entirely, then contact the board that regulates lawyers in your state. They may have a department that arbitrates fee disputes between attorneys and their clients. In the alternative, you may file a lawsuit against the attorney to force him to pay the fees.
Experience: Licensed in Massachusetts and New York