I fired my attorney 3 months ago. Yesterday I received a Motion to Withdraw as Counsel that she wants me to sign. Is she up to something?
Question Details:
Toward the end of my case my attorney stopped work. She claimed that it was because of non-payment, but it turned out she never actually sent me a bill. 3 months ago I fired her over this and offered to pay the portion of the bill that I agreed with as there were multiple charges that were related to the case she stopped working on that I'm refusing to pay. Yesterday I received a Motion to Withdraw as Counsel that she wants me to sign. I feel like it's some kind of trap to show that she's the one ending the contract. I don't know what to do.
Hello. My name is Natasha Goodarzian and I am a member of the Virginia State Bar. I agree with the previous attorney's comments--what your attorney is asking of you is a procedural issue. You fired her so she wants to notify the court that she is no longer acting as your attorney. She is not acting unethical.
Also, the contract you speak of is you Engagment Agreement which often reserves the right by both parties to terminate relations at will. Therefore, there's no trap.
The motion doesn't really matter, as far as any fee issues you have with the attorney, or who ended the contract. You should sign it, so that papers from the court and the other parties in the lawsuit will start coming to you instead of to her -- and so that if you hire a new attorney, they can get involved right away.
The Virginia State Bar has an attorney fee dispute arbitration program. You should look into this, as it is far simpler and cheaper than defending your ex-attorney's lawsuit for fees she thinks she has coming. You don't need another lawyer to do it.
