Christy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has.
Christy Bieber, J.D. ContributorChristy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has.
Written By Christy Bieber, J.D. ContributorChristy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has.
Christy Bieber, J.D. ContributorChristy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has.
ContributorAdam has resided at the intersection of legal and journalism for two decades. An award-winning journalist and legal strategist, he’s covered high-profile trials in Florida. After law school, Adam and spent two years clerking for a U.S. District Co.
Adam has resided at the intersection of legal and journalism for two decades. An award-winning journalist and legal strategist, he’s covered high-profile trials in Florida. After law school, Adam and spent two years clerking for a U.S. District Co.
Adam has resided at the intersection of legal and journalism for two decades. An award-winning journalist and legal strategist, he’s covered high-profile trials in Florida. After law school, Adam and spent two years clerking for a U.S. District Co.
Adam has resided at the intersection of legal and journalism for two decades. An award-winning journalist and legal strategist, he’s covered high-profile trials in Florida. After law school, Adam and spent two years clerking for a U.S. District Co.
Updated: May 24, 2024, 8:12am
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When you hire a lawyer, you expect your attorney to provide competent representation. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen, and you may need to file a complaint against your lawyer.
You have two options when you need to hold an attorney accountable. You can file a complaint with the state bar association, which can sanction them or remove their license. The other option is to file a civil action and receive damages for legal malpractice.
But when should you file a complaint against an attorney? Does your situation qualify? Here’s what you need to know about acting against your lawyer when their representation falls short.
Attorneys have a fiduciary duty to act in your best interests and a professional duty to provide competent representation. The American Bar Association, a nonprofit organization, describes these duties in its Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
You can file a complaint against your lawyer if they fail to meet these obligations. Here are common reasons to file a complaint against an attorney.
Attorneys must provide competent representation, which means they must act with the same level of skill that a reasonable professional with a similar level of training would offer.
Incompetence can arise in different ways, including a lack of knowledge or experience. Your matter may involve a highly technical area of law, like securities fraud. If an attorney isn’t familiar with those technicalities, they likely can’t represent you well.
An attorney who does not perform as a reasonably competent attorney would also violate their responsibilities. An attorney who fails to file the proper paperwork, does not prepare for trial, fails to appear at hearings or does not follow correct procedure could be liable for incompetence.
Generally, if an attorney can’t competently represent you due to lack of knowledge, they should decline your case or refer it out. If they take your case anyway under these discussions, they may face civil liability or bar sanctions.
Your attorney should keep you updated on your case so you can make informed decisions. It is only possible to make those decisions if your lawyer informs you of crucial developments or your options.
Attorneys should also inform clients of essential dates, like hearing and trial dates. They should tell you when they need information from you and what you need to do to prepare, especially if you’re testifying.
But when attorneys don’t communicate, you are disempowered from making informed decisions or knowing how your case is proceeding. That shortcoming may offer you grounds to file a complaint against your attorney.
Attorneys must represent you diligently and thoroughly. Failure to pay proper attention to your case harms your chances of securing a good result. This shortcoming is frequently one of the most substantial reasons to file a complaint against an attorney.
Time is of the essence in a civil or criminal matter. Courts impose deadlines for briefs, set hearings, and keep a strict calendar to keep cases moving forward. Several matters have a statute of limitations, creating a deadline for filing lawsuits.
If an attorney fails to act promptly on these aspects, and your case suffers, you likely have grounds for a complaint against the attorney. You may even receive damages if your case becomes time-barred, eliminating your chance for legal remedies.
Your lawyer should give you legal advice, but ultimately, you choose how to proceed. For example, if a settlement offer is made, it is up to you whether to accept it.
But if your attorney doesn’t listen to you, there could be a cause of action for a complaint. For example, if you told your attorney a current settlement offer is acceptable, but your lawyer declined it, you could recover damages from the lost proceeds and additional attorney fees.
Your attorney must charge a fair fee and disclose the cost and fee structure before you sign a fee agreement. But if they charge excessive charges and fees that they never explain in the fee agreement, you may have a claim against your attorney.
Every state bar association has a professional code of ethics. One rule consistent across states is conflicts of interest. For example, California’s rules address conflicts of interest with current clients and interests adverse to clients.
A conflict of interest could be apparent, like an attorney representing both spouses in a divorce. Others may be more subtle, like an attorney with an investment interest in a property representing a buyer of that property. If you catch a conflict of interest, you can file an ethics complaint with the state bar and likely collect civil damages against the attorney.
The attorney-client privilege protects you by keeping everything you tell your lawyer confidential. With minimal exceptions, your attorney cannot disclose anything you have said in confidence once you formed your attorney/client relationship.
If your attorney discloses privileged information, you can likely file a bar complaint or civil lawsuit against your attorney.
Attorneys must keep their client’s assets separate from their own. They do this with an attorney trust account, which is a bank account that holds clients’ property or prepaid fees. Personal injury settlements, escrow payments and retainer fees are a few examples of proceeds in an attorney trust account.
State bar association rules protect these funds. For example, in Washington state, attorneys must safeguard these funds. They can only withdraw from them when they earn the fees. Otherwise, the state bar association can discipline that attorney.
You can file a complaint against an attorney with the state bar association or designated office. Start with visiting your state bar association’s website. They usually have a page titled “public resources.” You can find a link to the attorney grievance process, like this example, on New York’s page.
Other states may require forms and offer a portal to submit them. California takes that approach and offers forms in several languages.
Before you file your complaint, try to work things out with your attorney. You may find a fair resolution to your grievances. If you can’t find consensus and wish to proceed with a complaint, you must follow your state’s procedure.
Your complaint starts with submitting a written description of what you believe your attorney did wrong. Remember, there may be a time limit for complaints, and you generally waive attorney/client privilege. That allows discipline counsel to investigate your complaint.
Filing a complaint against an attorney can result in disciplinary action if your complaint has merit. It can end with as severe as your lawyer losing their license to practice law.
But what if you incurred monetary damages from your attorney’s actions? For example, you may have missed a fair settlement or paid more attorney’s fees than necessary to resolve a matter. You may have a civil cause of action against your attorney when these situations arise.
The civil cause of action against an attorney is called legal malpractice. To prevail, you must show your attorney’s representation was below professional standards and that it is the proximate cause of your injuries. If you can show a link between these two elements, you may prevail in a civil lawsuit.
However, there is a time limit for these actions. In Florida, you must file within two years of the date you discovered your attorney’s malpractice. Other states may vary from two to four years.
An experienced malpractice lawyer can help you decide if you should pursue a malpractice claim and can assist you in protecting your rights when a lawyer’s misconduct has caused you harm.
There are many reasons to file a complaint against an attorney, but common grounds include unfair fees, incompetent representation and failure to communicate. Those whose attorneys engage in unethical behavior or provide inadequate representation can make a complaint with the attorney disciplinary board in their state and may also wish to sue for malpractice.
Attorneys must operate within a professional code of ethics. Examples of unethical behavior include representing clients when there is a conflict of interest, disclosing confidential and privileged information or commingling client assets with the attorney’s assets. Unethical behavior could give rise to a complaint against an attorney to the disciplinary board or a malpractice claim.
In most cases, the state bar association or state disciplinary boards will maintain databases of licensed attorneys. These databases include details on whether the attorney has ever been subject to disciplinary proceedings.
California’s ethical rules define attorney misconduct as fraud, deceit or intentional misrepresentation, and this is also typical of other states. These violations arise from criminal acts, dishonesty, improper influence of government agencies or judges and other conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.
Most state and county bar associations have attorney referral services that will refer you to an attorney skilled in your issue. Find attorneys for NYC personal injury lawsuits through reputable sources like this resource for NYC personal injury lawyers.
Write to them in an email or formal letter and list specific acts you believe fall under misconduct. You may want to hire a malpractice attorney to communicate with your former lawyer if you don’t wish to confront them.
