Question: Twelve weeks ago we sent a settlement agreement to my wife's attorney. We got no response. 

He was supposed to set a court date and half a dozen other things. He has not returned calls or taken action on any of the action items we discussed in over 8 weeks. 

What do I do about lawyer abandonment? And what about the money I have already paid him?

Question: My daughter is now 19 and in her second year of college and my son is 17 and still in high school. In 2007 I signed a contract of services with a local attorney. We went to settlement meetings with her attorney in March 2009. We went to court in July 2009 only for it to be delayed.  My attorney gives me all kinds of excuses as to the reason it is taking so long. I have paid over $4,500 and all I want is to stop child support on my daughter and modify my old order under the new laws concerning my son. To date, nothing has been done. My attorney won't answer my calls or return my e-mails. It seems the only way to get in touch with her is call her from another phone number different from mine. Can I get my money back from this attorney and how do I file for damages? I have a job offer in another state that I want to take but this is holding me back. My question is: how long should this process take? Am I being jerked around? How should I approach my attorney to let her know that I will pay her for her services, but that I expect a result in a given amount of time?

Question: I recently hired an attorney. I have found out that he is good friends with my ex-wife's attorney. I would have thought that this wouldn't matter to a professional, but he did nothing to further my case. After terminating his services, he made several excuses about returning my original documents. He is in possession of all original documents pertaining to my case prior to hiring him. Is there some way that I can ensure that all my documents are returned to me intact and quickly?  Are there general rules that apply regarding conflict of interest of the type that began my problems with this attorney?

by Kristin Zurek, J.D. of Cordell & Cordell, P.C.

I always tell my new clients that we are a team. I tell him that we have to work together and present a united front and work towards the same goals in his case. To that end, I’d like to give you some tips to make the most out of your attorney-client relationship.

*            Have your priorities outlined for your attorney. Tell them if property doesn’t matter to you – you just want to see your children every day. Tell them if you would prefer to keep your 401k in its entirety and you’d rather give her more out of the house. If your attorney knows what is most important to you in your litigation, he or she can keep that in mind when formulating your litigation strategy.
 

A family law attorney explains why full-disclosure is important to your case.

By Holly Hearn, J.D. of Cordell & Cordell, PC

Your relationships with prior wives, girlfriends, or current partners will be put under a microscope by an adversary.

A few months ago, I was headed to a Temporary Orders hearing in one of my divorce cases, and I stepped onto the elevator with the attorney representing the other spouse in the case. I noticed that the attorney was pulling a dolly behind her, but I dismissed it as evidence for an unrelated case since I had been told by my client that he had no “skeletons in the closet” and my research seemed to verify his position...