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What to Do When Your Lawyer Stops Communicating With You in New York City
When your lawyer stops communicating with you, you must be patient. Give the lawyer a reasonable time to reply because his schedule may be busy or there may have been an emergency. If a reasonable time has lapsed without any answer, you may consider the following steps to ensure your case is not neglected.
Contact the Lawyer Through All Means
Call the lawyer through his mobile phone or telephone. Send an email. Write a letter and mail it to his registered address. Personally visit him in his office. Document your efforts and maintain a written record of all attempts to contact the lawyer. This will be important in case you need to elevate your concern to a higher body.
Contact the Law Firm
If the lawyer is part of a bigger law firm, you can reach out to other lawyers in the firm or to the managing partner. They may have an update on what happened to the lawyer.
Request an Update from the Court
If you are worried about what happened to your court case, you should go to the court where the case is filed and request for an update. It is important that you comply with any deadlines to answer or respond, as directed by the court. You may need to hire a new lawyer to appear for you in the court case.
If you are able to finally contact your lawyer, request for an update to see whether you need to file anything with your court case. Remember that you can terminate your relationship with your lawyer at any time because it is a relationship of trust and confidence.
Get a New Lawyer
If your lawyer still has not responded, it may be time to get a new lawyer who can advise you on your remedies, both on your case and against the negligent lawyer.
File a Complaint
If you have been damaged in any way due to the negligence of your lawyer, you can check the state’s legal ethics rules to know your rights and remedies. If the act constitutes ethical misconduct, you could file a complaint for violation of ethical rules with the appropriate legal authorities or bar association.
Mediation or Arbitration
Some states provide for mediation or arbitration procedures for resolving attorney-client relationships. This could be a more affordable solution than going to court to resolve your dispute with the attorney.
A relationship between an attorney and a client is based on trust, confidence, and effective communication. When one aspect is lacking, it is hard to rebuild the trust back. You may need to get a new lawyer to know your rights and remedies. Should you need assistance, we at the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin are here for you. We have offices in New York City, Brooklyn, NY and Queens, NY. You can call us at 212-233-1233 or send us an email at [email protected].
Lawyer's Duty to Communicate
New York's Rules of Professional Conduct impose specific communication obligations on lawyers. Rule 1.4 of the Rules requires lawyers to:
- Promptly inform clients of decisions that require client consent.
- Reasonably consult with the client about the means of accomplishing the client's objectives.
- Keep the client reasonably informed about the status of the matter.
- Promptly comply with reasonable requests for information.
- Consult with the client about any relevant limitation on the lawyer's conduct.
A lawyer who fails to communicate with a client violates these professional rules and can be subject to discipline. Beyond the ethics rules, a lawyer who fails to communicate can also be liable for malpractice if the failure damages the client's case.
Common Reasons Lawyers Stop Communicating
Understanding why a lawyer has stopped communicating helps in choosing the right response:
Workload management. The lawyer is busy with other matters and is not prioritizing your case. This is the most common cause and usually responds to escalating contact.
Bad news. The lawyer has bad news to deliver (a missed deadline, an adverse ruling, an unexpected development) and is avoiding the conversation.
Disagreement about strategy. The lawyer disagrees with the client's preferred approach and is uncomfortable having the disagreement.
Health issues. The lawyer is dealing with health problems — sometimes the lawyer's, sometimes a family member's — that have disrupted their practice.
Practice difficulties. The lawyer's practice is in trouble. Some lawyers facing serious problems abandon clients rather than seek help.
Disciplinary issues. The lawyer may be facing suspension, disbarment, or other discipline that affects their ability to communicate or continue representing clients.
Cognitive decline. Aging lawyers sometimes experience decline that affects their work without recognizing the issue themselves.
Different causes call for different responses. Persistent contact may work for the first few. The latter situations often require more drastic action.
Specific Steps to Escalate
If your lawyer has stopped responding, escalate in stages:
Stage 1: Multiple contact attempts. Call, email, leave voicemails. Be courteous but persistent. Document each attempt with dates and times.
Stage 2: Written notice. Send a certified letter requesting a status update and noting the previous unanswered communications. The certified mail creates a record and signals seriousness.
Stage 3: Office visit. Show up at the lawyer's office during business hours. Sometimes a personal appearance produces a response when phones and emails do not.
Stage 4: Contact the firm. If the lawyer is in a firm, contact the managing partner or another partner. The firm has institutional responsibility for client matters and will often intervene to address the situation.
Stage 5: Contact the court. If your matter is in litigation, contact the court directly to inquire about case status and any pending deadlines. The court's clerk can confirm filings, hearing dates, and other procedural matters.
Stage 6: Retain new counsel. If the lawyer remains unresponsive, retain new counsel. The new lawyer can substitute for the old lawyer on the case and take over the representation.
Stage 7: File a grievance. The New York State Bar Association's grievance committees investigate lawyer misconduct, including failure to communicate. A grievance creates an investigation that the lawyer must respond to.
Getting Your File
When you change lawyers, you are entitled to your case file. The lawyer must turn over the file even if there is a fee dispute. The file includes:
- All documents you provided to the lawyer.
- All documents the lawyer obtained from third parties on your behalf.
- All filings made in court on your behalf.
- Correspondence sent on your behalf.
- Court orders and other documents received by the lawyer in your case.
The lawyer can retain copies for the firm's own records and can charge for copying costs. The lawyer cannot withhold the file as leverage in a fee dispute. If a lawyer refuses to turn over the file, the new lawyer can file a motion to compel.
Fee Disputes
If you owe the lawyer fees, those still need to be addressed even when you switch lawyers. The unpaid fees are a debt the lawyer can pursue through normal collection. If you dispute the fees, New York has a fee dispute resolution program through the bar association that provides arbitration at modest cost.
The fee dispute does not block your right to switch lawyers or to receive your file. The two issues are separate and should be handled separately.
Malpractice Claims
If the lawyer's failure to communicate caused you actual damage — missed deadlines, lost claims, adverse rulings — you may have a malpractice claim. Legal malpractice claims have specific elements:
- An attorney-client relationship existed.
- The lawyer breached the duty of reasonable care.
- The breach caused damages.
- The damages are quantifiable.
Malpractice claims have a three-year statute of limitations from the date of the wrongful act. The clock can sometimes be tolled or extended in specific circumstances. If you believe you have been damaged by your lawyer's conduct, consult a legal malpractice attorney promptly.
Hiring a New Lawyer
When you hire a new lawyer, the new lawyer's first job is to get up to speed on the case. The new lawyer reviews the file, identifies pending deadlines, takes immediate protective steps if needed, and develops a strategy for moving forward. This onboarding period is shorter when the file is complete and the case is well-organized; longer when the prior representation was sloppy.
The fee structure with the new lawyer is negotiated fresh. Prior fees paid to the old lawyer are between you and the old lawyer. The new lawyer's engagement begins on its own terms.
About the Author
Albert Goodwin Esq. is a licensed New York attorney with over 18 years of courtroom experience. His extensive knowledge and expertise make him well-qualified to write authoritative articles on a wide range of legal topics. He can be reached at 212-233-1233 or [email protected].
