What About A Lawyer Who Does Not Return Phone Calls? — They May Not Be The Best Immigration Lawyer
My husband has a immigration lawyer who consistently doesn’t return our calls and for the most part doesn’t do anything with our case. Can we sue to get the money back we have paid to her? Is there a type of organization to report lawyers like the Better Business Bureau for businesses?
— Anonymous
Yes, you have at least two options.
Lawyers are required to be responsive to inquiries from their clients, whether by telephone, fax, mail or email. Lawyers are also required to keep their clients informed as to the status of their case. These general tenets are codifed by the individual states that regulate the practice of law in
that state. In your state of North Carolina, lawyers conduct is governed by the North Carolina Bar Association. You can contact them through their website at www.ncbar.org. There is a mechanism for filing a complaint against a lawyer, and this is something you may want to consider if you have not been getting return phone calls. Once you file a complaint the attorney will have to respond, and then the Bar will decide whether the conduct was wrong and enter an appropriate order. This discussion is in general terms, and clearly, I cannot predict the outcome of your complaint.
The other relief you may have is a lawsuit in a civil court seeking to return attorneys fees paid for service not rendered. When you entered into the Retainer Agreement with the lawyer, you and the lawyer signed a contract. If the contract is being violated by the lawyer, then you may have a civil action to recover the fees and damages. The Bar association referral service can also recommend you to an attorney to review your specific facts to determine whether a lawsuit is appropriate.
One last caveat…if the person you used do file the immigration case was a non-lawyer, such as an immigration consultant, or a notary public not licensed to practice law, then you would have less recourse because their conduct is not regulated. That is the reason to retain a professional immigration attorney to handle an immigration matter, even though your experience has not been good so far.
Michael Shane and Evan Shane, Immigration Attorneys