(Yet Another) Fire the Lawyer Thread

[dragonlover 6]

hmmmm thats something..lawyer knows how to milk good. Well if you are in a hurry to finish aos, you can very well file it for yourself and its just easy. I filled mine by myself and i just let my husband sign the check and sign the i-864...and then rest i did all. As long as you got all your papers and all the infos you need you be fine...Goodluck!

[Liz&Nate 23]

Sadly this is common. Most people start out their cases with minimal knowledge of immigration laws and processes. For a lot of us the lawyer trap was a necessary and costly mistake to realize there is enough information to do things on your own if you have a straightforward case. In your particular case you had legitimate concerns that made you want to get the advice of a lawyer. It's sad that so many so-called "immigration attorneys" have so little concern for anything but cashing a check. It's a good thing you are aware of his lack of ethics now and can start taking control of things. Best of luck.

[Harsh_77 718]

I am all in for having a list of bad and good lawyers, which should help the ppl when they start their complex and long visa journey.

[Channah&Aaron 51]

; Ugh!! An other scum bag

I hope you can work this out with your future lawyer since your case, like you said, is complicated.

Good luck

[bigdog 376]

Hello all,

My husband and I hired a lawyer that our families recommended to us. Initially we had put together an application for AOS using the information we had gotten through this site and others and were going to do it ourselves, but we listened to our family. We met with him on April 18th, handed him the file including all USCIS fees and half of his fee. We decided to give him the other half later, after the process had started. He said that he mailed it out May 10th but we haven't received an NOA1 yet. I knew something was off since June and asked about it here. He claimed that they had issued an RFE but that he was working on it. It turns out, he only recently mailed it and they received it last Monday, three months after we had hired him in the first place. We want to pull him from our case without causing anymore delays or problems for ourselves. He said if we come in, talk to him, and sign a release form he will give us a partial refund and my file back, but our family advised against this and thinks that we should hire another lawyer to go after the first one instead. We honestly do not know what to do. We don't have money to keep hiring more lawyers (I cannot work and I was hoping I'd be working already), but we also don't want to end up in a worse position than we are in now.

You do not need an attorney, get as much money as you can back. their are enough of us here who have filed our own AOS. When you get your money back, make a state bar complaint for performance and ask for more refund.

[joenlemy 2]

If this is a immigration attorney. they are not only held to the standard of their state bar, but also held to a higher standard called DOJ (Department of Justice). ineffective counsel is just cause to ask for a extension if needed.

Here is a link to the complaint form.

http://www.justice.gov/eoir/eoirforms/eoir44.pdf

Best of luck to you

[san diego 407]

Not all lawyers are the same. I did use lawyer for my K1 as was highly satisfied. No problem whatsoever. I filed AOS myself without a problem. I did hire a lawyer for the K1 stage not to fill out applications which are straight forward but to address any complications along the way that may arise. On the AOS stage your loved one is already here and any complication can be handled accordingly. I cannot say that you cannot file AOS without the lawyer. I did. However, there are good immigration attorneys, and I used one before.

[joenlemy 2]

I'm sure all lawyers are not the same. I feel confident in the lawyer I have now. But there are some out there only looking to get fat off others. It's good to know your options if you happen to be unlucky enough to have a bad one.

[Gosia & Tito 199]

No doubt your lawyer IS upset, and probably concerned that you could sue him for incompetence, failing to act in your best interests and acting against the Model Rules by lying to you about a non-existent RFE (basically, misconduct).

Have a read at New York Bar Association (the body that regulates lawyers in NY). More specifically, take a look at the Client's Rights and the Model Rules of Professional Conduct.

Of course you can fire the lawyer. You should definitely terminate his services immediately. Write a letter outlining that you are terminating with immediate effect because he acted unethically by withholding your application for three months AND lying to you. Subject to any agreement you signed about what paperwork he may retain lawfully, you should request all paperwork required for your process be returned immediately. If you wish to forward a copy to USCIS and advise them that you are now the contact point for your application, that is up to you. Otherwise, just write a letter to them notifying that he is no longer representing you and giving the new point of contact address.

In order to get any monies back from this lawyer, the release is possibly an attempt for you to waive your right to take action against him for his behaviour. Take someone who understands legalese if you opt to go down this route.

There is a huge wealth of knowledge on the internet and, if you feel your understanding is decent, that should enable you to wade through the paperwork. If you're concerned, get a fixed fee appointment with an immigration attorney or visit Laurel Scott's site. In this day and age pay for what you get, not what the lawyer wants you to have.

Best of luck, OP.

Only thing I will add is that it is one thing what you/he/she said and another to have proof. THat means, Is there a written communication in which he states your petition was filed (the first date you gave) or a contract that stipulated when he will file. Is there a written communication in which he let you know there was a RFE and what he was going to do about it?

With that an the day of the check being deposit (from your bank), you can establish whether there was something wrong going on or not. I'm afraid that if all you have is what he told you, that is not proof. As the original post says, often a release is a way to cover his a**, without giving specifics of what is to cover. The language is around releasing him/her from any future complaint. I'd still check whatever he wants signed with another lawyer, is money well spent to also ensure you are released.

[Max1gk 68]

It truly blows my mind that anyone would chastise someone for making an understandable decision that just didn't turn out well.

It truly blows my mind even more when anyone assumes what someone else was trying to say...stick to my "off topic" words. No joke if someone doesn't know about this site than he/she would rely elsewhere but indeed,when you have everything you need and especially the knowledge from this website,doing so It's a total waste of money,FACT. The Constitution tells you (even if not litterally) that you're free to waste your money as much as you want,and also that someone else can comment on it to try to prevent others doing the same error..and above all I'd happy to see the OP successfully applying for ROC in 2 years without involving incompetent blood suckers and saving her money for herself and her husband..so much for "chastising"...

P.S. I hope that It's clear enough the fact that this is refered to standard cases free of particular issues..

Edited July 26, 2011 by Max1gk

[LiveLaughLove 2]

EmmillJ, my heart goes out to you...so sorry this happened. 3 months of nothing...and lawyer just now starting the process...whew! Not sure how I would have handled that.

Lots of hugs and prayers to you!

[newlyweds2010 208]

He has been violating at least two rules of professional responsibility. First, a lawyer cannot sit on a client's file and neglect to do his job in a reasonably timely manner. I'd say that waiting 3 months to mail an envelope falls within this definition. Second, a lawyer attempting to have a client sign a settlement (I assume this is the "release form", meaning that you will sign that you will not sue him, and he will give you back part of the retainer) must advise the client to obtain independent counsel to review the settlement.

[EmmillJ 1]

Wow, again I cannot thank you all enough for taking the time to reply.

Thank you Brit Abroad for the links you posted. I reviewed them this morning. The Client's Rights page was especially interesting seeing as how he's already violated #'s 1, 2, 5, 6, and 9.

I had a consultation with another lawyer yesterday, again another recommendation from family members connected through marriage but already she seems far more reputable.

She said it was very fishy that he did not have a legal retainer agreement for me to sign and only gave me a receipt of payment and that I can make a complaint to the NY Bar Association going on just that point alone.

Before having another lawyer send him a letter on my behalf I should send him one in writing formally requesting the file he mailed to USCIS along with a copy of whatever payment method he used.

If I still haven't received a receipt notice after 30 days has passed and/if he won't give me a copy of my file or claims not to have copies, then I should get a lawyer involved, first by writing a letter to him requesting my file and a refund and then taking it from there.

Her reasoning was that even if he doesn't reply there's at least a formal request on record and a paper trail.

Even if he gives me the file I can then give it to another lawyer if we still need one, and they would then have full knowledge of the case and can sign on as my lawyer by simply filing a form (G-28).

She also suggested that I not fire him until he hands me the file, a big issue for her is whether or not he even filed the form representing himself as my lawyer. The only way we would know that is if he gives me a copy of the file he sent in.

And no, we did not see it beforehand and now we know how incredibly stupid that was but we honestly did not know at the time.

So (to answer your question, Gosia & Tito) we do not have much of a paper trail, no client/retainer agreement, he now refuses to put anything in writing and so writing the email was an attempt to start having things in writing. I'm hand delivering a copy of the emailed letter to his office today and my husband followed up this morning with another call to his office. He asked his secretary to ask him when I can come and pick up the file and will call again in the afternoon (after I've delivered the letter).

If he doesn't give us a favorable reply by tomorrow morning we'll have the lawyer send him a letter with the same request and also laying out the consequences for him. Oh yeah, and firing him too (that is very important to me). From there we'll see about how much money we can get back, but the most important thing to us is our AOS application and ensuring that it can finally go through without further interference.

Again, I cannot thank you all enough for your support.

EmmillJ, my heart goes out to you...so sorry this happened. 3 months of nothing...and lawyer just now starting the process...whew! Not sure how I would have handled that.

Lots of hugs and prayers to you!

Ha, I'd be lying if I said it's taking everything in me not to go and torch the place. Luckily for him he works in an office building and it wouldn't be fair to his neighbors....

[EmmillJ 1]

Well, I called USCIS again and was able to get more info.

The good: Our NOA1 was mailed last Thursday, so we should get a notice any day now.

The interesting: He did not file a g-28, and so there is no lawyer associated with my case. He basically isn't representing me as my lawyer in the eyes of USCIS.

Still, from what they can see all fees were paid and there are no problems so there's as good a bit of news as I've ever heard.

[newlyweds2010 208]

Actually he also violated a third rule of conduct: a lawyer must give his client candid advice and keep the client reasonably informed. I believe that lying to a client about the activity carried out is not very candid.