If you are hurt in an accident, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault party. Typically, injury victims hire personal injury attorneys to handle their claims. But what happens if they are unhappy with their legal representation?
As a client, you can fire your Florida personal injury lawyer for any reason. Depending on the terms of your fee agreement, they still might be entitled to a portion of your recovery as their fee. Our Vero Beach personal injury attorneys can help you navigate the process of firing your current counsel and hiring a new lawyer.
Gould Cooksey Fennell offers outstanding legal representation to clients in personal injury cases throughout Florida’s Treasure Coast. Whether you were hurt in a slip and fall, a motorcycle accident, or through medical malpractice, we can help you get maximum compensation for your losses. Reach out to our law firm today to schedule a free initial consultation with a Florida personal injury law firm.
Reasons You May Consider Firing Your Personal Injury Lawyer
There are many reasons why you might want to fire your Florida personal injury attorney. You don’t need a “good cause” to fire your lawyer. In fact, you could fire them for any reason at all.
However, there are certain reasons why clients tend to fire their personal injury lawyer. In many cases, the decision is based on some sort of failure on the part of the attorney.
The Rules Regulating the Florida Bar spell out lawyers’ professional responsibilities. This includes sections addressing the lawyer-client relationship, maintaining the integrity of the profession, and their role as a counselor and legal advocate.
Under the Florida Rules of Professional Conduct, a lawyer’s main responsibilities are towards their client. This includes:
- Communication: Under Rule 4-1.4, Florida attorneys are required to keep clients reasonably informed about the status of the matter, promptly inform the client of any decision or circumstance that requires the client’s informed consent, reasonably consult with the client about how to best achieve their goals, and promptly comply with reasonable requests for information. Communication is one of the most important duties for any attorney. Issues related to communication are one of the biggest reasons that clients decide to fire their attorney. If you believe that your attorney isn’t keeping you informed about your case, does not explain issues related to the case, or isn’t responding to requests for information, you should talk to them about your concerns. If they still aren’t communicating well with you, then you may consider firing them and seeking new representation.
- Diligence: Florida Rule 4-1.3 requires lawyers to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client. Generally, this means that a lawyer should not procrastinate or delay in moving a case forward by doing things like rescheduling meetings and not responding to calls in a timely manner. It is important to understand that personal injury cases can take time. Even the most diligent lawyer may have trouble getting a response from an insurance adjuster, for example. However, an attorney still has a duty to avoid unreasonable delays. If you believe that your lawyer is unreasonably delaying your case, then you may have cause to terminate your relationship and look for new counsel.
If you are unhappy with your representation for whatever reason, you can fire them and look for a new lawyer. You do not need to cite a rule of professional conduct that has been violated. If you are frustrated with the slow pace of your case or the fact that you aren’t getting updates from your attorney, you can end the relationship with them.
At the same time, it is important to have reasonable expectations. It is entirely possible that any new lawyer you hire will deal with the same delays or that they won’t be able to update you on your case on a daily basis. Keep in mind that law firms handle many cases, so they might not be able to communicate with you as often as you would like. They should still be complying with the Rules of Professional Conduct, however, and keep you reasonably informed while they diligently pursue the matter.
Personal injury cases take time to build. The first step is often investigating the underlying facts of the case to determine what happened and who may be liable. This may involve interviewing witnesses, requesting accident reports, reviewing photos and videos of the scene, and analyzing medical records. They will also be performing legal research.
As anyone who has ever dealt with a bureaucracy knows, these steps can take time. Your lawyer may submit a request to the police for an accident report, for example, and not get a response for 30 or more days. It can be frustrating to wait, but building a strong case takes time.
At the same time, the insurance company will be performing its own investigation (which also takes time). It is only after these investigations are done that negotiations can begin. If it becomes necessary to file a lawsuit, then there are many pre-trial steps to take, such as exchanging information through discovery, which can take time.
Your lawyer should explain the process to you and keep you updated so that you know what to expect. Even if it takes 6 months or longer to resolve your case, understanding where you are in the process can make it a lot less frustrating.
Our law firm takes pride in our outstanding communication and dedication to each client. At Gould Cooksey Fennell, we don’t treat you like a file number. We know that your personal injury case is incredibly important to you, and we work hard to exceed your expectations.
Will I Owe My Attorney Money If I Fire Them?
Personal injury cases are almost exclusively handled on a contingency fee basis. This means that you won’t pay any money out of pocket, such as a retainer or an hourly fee. Instead, the attorney’s fee will be paid as a percentage of your total recovery through settlement or trial.
For this reason, you typically won’t have to write your lawyer a check if you fire them. That being said, they will probably still be entitled to a percentage of your recovery as a fee. You will also have to reimburse any costs that they advanced for the litigation. The exact amount will depend on your fee agreement (contract) and the amount of work that they put into the case.
For example, consider a situation where you signed a 30% contingency fee agreement with Lawyer A to represent you in a car accident case. You become dissatisfied with their representation pretty quickly after hiring them and decide to fire them after just 6 weeks. You then hire Lawyer B on a 30% contingency fee agreement. Lawyer B settles the case for $100,000, which means that you will be entitled to a fee of $30,000. The two lawyers will then decide how to split that fee based on the amount of work that each law firm put into the case.
If you fired Lawyer A after just 6 weeks and Lawyer B spent 5 months working on your case, then Lawyer B will likely get a much larger share of this fee. If you fired Lawyer A after 6 months and Lawyer B only spent a few weeks finalizing the settlement, then Lawyer A will get a bigger chunk of the fee. In most cases, the two attorneys will negotiate an agreement over how the fee will be split based on the amount of work that they put into the case.
Of course, the ultimate answer to whether you will owe your Florida personal injury attorney money after you fire them is that it depends on the facts of your case. The terms of your contract will dictate your respective rights. While you do have the right to fire your attorney, you should check your agreement to determine how it will impact you.
Considering New Representation? Give Us a Call.
If you aren’t happy with your Florida personal injury attorney, you are not required to stick with them. It is possible to switch if you find yourself left in the dark about your case or if there are unreasonable delays. Our law firm can take on your case and help you get maximum compensation for your injuries.
Gould Cooksey Fennell advocates for the rights of injury victims throughout the Treasure Coast region. If you have decided to fire your lawyer, we can work with your former attorney to transfer your case and get up to speed as quickly as possible. To learn more or to schedule a free consultation with a Vero Beach personal injury lawyer, call our law offices at 772-231-1100 or fill out our online contact form.
What Do I Have to Do to Fire My Lawyer?
While it may be awkward, you do have to inform your lawyer that you are terminating your agreement with them. The method for doing so should be in your fee agreement. Generally, you will be required to provide written notice to the law firm of your decision to terminate the relationship, stating your reasons for doing so.
Your new Florida personal injury lawyer can then help you with the next steps. This will include getting your case file, notifying relevant parties (such as the insurance company), and settling any outstanding fees. If you have decided to move on from your current representation, contact Gould Cooksey Fennell to talk to an experienced Vero Beach personal injury attorney.
Will Switching Lawyers Affect the Outcome of My Case?
Firing your attorney could have an impact on the outcome of your case. In some situations, it could mean that you get a much better outcome and that you get your money more quickly because your new lawyer is more diligent about pursuing the claim. However, switching to a new law firm can mean some delays as your new attorney gets up to speed on the case.
Cooperation between the two firms can help to minimize delays and ensure a smooth transition. Gould Cooksey Fennell has experience navigating this process. If you choose to hire our law firm, we will work hard to minimize any negative impact that the change in representation may have on your case. Reach out to our law offices to schedule a free consultation.
