I've been trying to resolve this on my own but I'm stuck.
lawyer charging for work not done. I've been dealing with this for about 4 weeks now and the situation isn't improving.
I have already consulted briefly with a lawyer but the other party is not cooperating.
Do I have a strong case? What should my next steps be?
Attorney here. Here's my take on the legal issues.
The legal framework here involves both federal and state law. At the federal level, the relevant statute. Your state may provide additional protections.
The practical consideration here is cost vs. potential recovery. For disputes under $10K, small claims court is often the best route.
This is one of those situations where even a quick legal consult pays for itself.
Have you tried reaching out to your state's legal aid society? They sometimes have free resources or mediation services fr fr.
This happened to me too. Have you tried filing a complaint with the relevant agency? In my case they investigated and it got resolved without needing a lawyer.
Not a lawyer, but I have direct experience with this.
I ended up filing with the appropriate government agency, which cost about $4-8 but saved me a lot more in the long run sadly.
Hired a lawyer for an insurance bad faith claim. Paid a $5,000 retainer. Six months later, almost nothing has happened — no demand letter sent, no discovery, and he's billed through the entire retainer on "research" and "file review." When I asked for an itemized accounting, the entries were vague: "Review file - 2.5 hours" repeated multiple times.
Is this normal? Can I get my money back?
This is potentially an ethics violation. Attorneys have obligations under their state's Rules of Professional Conduct regarding:
Steps: (1) Request a detailed accounting in writing, (2) if unsatisfied, you can terminate the representation at any time — the attorney must refund any unearned portion of the retainer, (3) file a complaint with your state bar's disciplinary authority, (4) many state bars have a fee arbitration program that's free or low-cost for clients.
You are ALWAYS entitled to your file. If the attorney refuses to return it, that's an additional ethics violation.
The merger/integration clause is the most dangerous clause in any contract. It says the written contract is the ENTIRE agreement, wiping out any verbal promises. Always get verbal agreements in writing before signing.
I just learned that indemnification clauses can be mutual or one-sided. Always push for mutual indemnification — if they want you to indemnify them, they should indemnify you too. It's basic fairness.