Imagine as you are telling your attorney everything you know about your case, he or she states that it seems like an open-and-shut case the firm is willing to accept. Your attorney prepares documents for you to fill out and return in order to file your lawsuit.
Several weeks pass without your hearing anything from your attorney. You realize that the statute of limitations for your case is fast approaching, and you’re concerned that you haven’t received a copy of the filed petition. You call the office and are told the attorney will return your call shortly.
Several more days pass before you get a message in your voicemail. Your attorney is informing you that he’s decided not to take on your case due to his current caseload. Now you have only a short time before your case proscribes, and you need to find a new attorney.
Negligence could ruin your chance to obtain compensation
In this case, you did everything you were supposed to. You even had an agreement that the attorney would accept and file your case. Despite that, he went back on his word, disengaged you as a client and left you in a difficult position. If you’re unable to find someone to litigate the case, you could lose your right to file altogether.
It’s important to bring this case up with your new attorney. A verbal contract is usually binding, so if your attorney decides at the last minute not to file your case or realizes that he or she forgot to do so, it could put you in a position where you can file a claim for legal malpractice. It’s irresponsible for any attorney to make a claim that he or she can take legal action and then renege on that agreement.