Insurance Claim Denial — lawyer charging for work not done

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.

I had a similar issue and ended up consulting with an attorney. It was worth the $200-300 for the initial consultation just to understand my rights.

Have you tried reaching out to your state's legal aid society? They sometimes have free resources or mediation services.

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.

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:

• Competence (Rule 1.1): Failing to advance your case for 6 months may indicate incompetence or neglect.
• Diligence (Rule 1.3): Attorneys must act with reasonable diligence and promptness.
• Communication (Rule 1.4): You should have been kept informed of case status.
• Fees (Rule 1.5): Fees must be reasonable. Vague time entries that don't describe actual work performed are a red flag.

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.