If I finished paying my lawyer but he died before he finished my case, can I now hire a lawyer to get my money back from the state bar?

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If I finished paying my lawyer but he died before he finished my case, can I now hire a lawyer to get my money back from the state bar?

Asked on November 18, 2014 under Uncategorized, California

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 9 years ago | Contributor

The state bar is NOT responsible for the debts of individual lawyers; the state bar is not the employer or insurer of the attorneys in the state.

If the lawyer was part of a firm, the firm should be responsible for finishing the work. If he or she was a solo practioner and took your money without doing the work for it, you *might* be able to sue the attorney's estate to recover some or all of the money. Whether you will succeed or not is impossible to say based on what you have written: much depends on how the law firm was structured, on what the work was, on how much was done, on the terms of the representation, etc. If you want to consider this option, discuss the matter in detail with an attorney.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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