The decision to fire your attorney should not be taken lightly. You must first weigh the consequences and decide if it’s still worth it. I’ve talked with several people who want to fire their present attorneys because they believe that they are not doing their job. Often attorneys will have a “lien” if they have already put effort into resolving your Utah accident and injury claim. You should look at your retainer agreement to verify if there is a possible lien. Typically, agreements entitle the attorney to have a lien of 30% on cases that they receive a settlement offer on. Also, attorneys are entitled to make a claim on the value of their time that they have put into the case. Even 20 hours of work is substantial considering attorneys can charge upwards of $200 an hour for their services.
The problem arises when you attempt to find another attorney who will take your case with a lien attached. The second attorney will basically be working for the first attorney who has the lien attached. Unless the lien is well below the normal value, most attorneys prefer to avoid working on a case with an lien. You should always consider who will take-on your case after you fire your attorney. Do you have an exit plan? Is there an attorney willing to work with an attached lien?
If you decide to fire your attorney, I suggest you do it when the case is first beginning. When there is no offer on the table, the lien will be much less and often attorneys will wave the lien if the case is in its early stages.
Now that you’ve considered the advantages and disadvantages, how do you actually fire your attorney? The quickest way is to call them up and tell and tell them they’re fired. Ask them for a copy of your file. Be prepared to defend you decision because attorneys will likely try to talk you out of it. If you are firm in your decision, stand your ground and don’t budge.
If a telephone conversation does not appeal to you, you can send them a letter. In the letter you should let them know they you are firing them and request a copy of your file. Giving an explanation is not necessary but I would recommend providing an explanation in cases where you believe they weren’t doing their job. This will make it less likely that they will try to impose a lien.
Remember that you are entitled to a copy of your file. Do not allow the attorney’s office to tell you that you can’t have the file and do not let them tell you that you have to pay the attorney lien before they will give you your file. If they do this, tell them you will be contacting the Utah State Bar- and they just might change their mind!
Ron Kramer is a Utah accident and injury attorney that has years of experience representing the injured all throughout the state.