Attorney Question
My immigration attorney quit her practice last fall and moved to
another state. I had paid her a large sum of money (over $2000) to represent me at my removal proceedings trial (I retained her just before my 1st 'master calendar' court hearing before an immigration judge in 2003 but after I filed, on my own, the AOS petition based on marriage to a USC).I was put on the 'Matter of Garcia' calendar by the immigration judge. This simply means I appear before the judge once a year, and the judge continues my case until the following year, or until my I-130 is approved. So essentially my attorney had appeared in court for about 5 minutes for the past 3 three years to request continuance. Absolutely NOTHING has happened to my case. I am STILL in removal proceeding. My I-130 has yet to be approved. Now I am in the situation where I must find another immigration attorney to represent me in my upcoming annual hearing before the immigration judge and pay another large sum of money to retain that attorney. My question is - am I entitled to receive a refund (all or partial) for the attorney fees I paid to my former attorney. She refuses to give a refund since she claims she had spend a lot of my time on my case. I don't see how she can say that as I filed the AOS petition, and my case is in limbo until the USCIS approves my I-130 at which time I can request a termination of removal proceedings. Back in 2003 the attorney and I signed a retainer agreement. Am I not entitled to a refund because she terminated the agreement (breach of contract?). She will (or has already) be filing a Motion for Attorney Withdrawal to both the Immigration Court and the Chief Counsel's Office. Also, I am thinking of going it alone (i.e. no attorney) and appear before the immigration judge at my upcoming court hearing and request a continuance if my I-130 has yet to be processed (most likely scenario) . If by some miracle, my I-130 is approved (unlikely as the USCIS would have notified me in writing before the court hearing), I will file a motion to termination the removal proceedings against me. Do I really need a high proceed attorney to request continuance?? If and when my I-130 is approved, I will most likely seek out a new attorney to walk me through the termination of proceedings. Thanks, Joe |
Re: Attorney Question
Originally Posted by JoeBurmeister
My immigration attorney quit her practice last fall and moved to
another state. I had paid her a large sum of money (over $2000) to represent me at my removal proceedings trial (I retained her just before my 1st 'master calendar' court hearing before an immigration judge in 2003 but after I filed, on my own, the AOS petition based on marriage to a USC).I was put on the 'Matter of Garcia' calendar by the immigration judge. This simply means I appear before the judge once a year, and the judge continues my case until the following year, or until my I-130 is approved. So essentially my attorney had appeared in court for about 5 minutes for the past 3 three years to request continuance. Absolutely NOTHING has happened to my case. I am STILL in removal proceeding. My I-130 has yet to be approved. Now I am in the situation where I must find another immigration attorney to represent me in my upcoming annual hearing before the immigration judge and pay another large sum of money to retain that attorney. My question is - am I entitled to receive a refund (all or partial) for the attorney fees I paid to my former attorney. She refuses to give a refund since she claims she had spend a lot of my time on my case. I don't see how she can say that as I filed the AOS petition, and my case is in limbo until the USCIS approves my I-130 at which time I can request a termination of removal proceedings. Back in 2003 the attorney and I signed a retainer agreement. Am I not entitled to a refund because she terminated the agreement (breach of contract?). She will (or has already) be filing a Motion for Attorney Withdrawal to both the Immigration Court and the Chief Counsel's Office. Also, I am thinking of going it alone (i.e. no attorney) and appear before the immigration judge at my upcoming court hearing and request a continuance if my I-130 has yet to be processed (most likely scenario) . If by some miracle, my I-130 is approved (unlikely as the USCIS would have notified me in writing before the court hearing), I will file a motion to termination the removal proceedings against me. Do I really need a high proceed attorney to request continuance?? If and when my I-130 is approved, I will most likely seek out a new attorney to walk me through the termination of proceedings. Thanks, Joe You don't bother to give the terms of your retainer agreement. You state both what has happened and that NOTHING has happened. BTW, there is no such thing as a 'five minute appearance' unless you limit it to the time actually before the Immigration Judge. In fact, those 'five minute appearances' eat up an average of three hours each of attorney time in my experience. On my calendar today I happen to have both a merits hearing and a master. That master is a followup to a merits which was cancelled due to the IJ illness on the prior merits day. It will be a 'five minute appearance' which will add a MINIMUM of 90 minutes to time at court today [but at least the travel time is split]. |
Re: Attorney Question
In my business, retainers were annual payments, I sort of assumed the US legal system worked the same way.
But presumably the period could be longer or for a specific application/process, what did you agreement say? |
Re: Attorney Question
NOTHING has happened that has moved my case forward. I am no closer to
adjustment then I was when I first filed my AOS petition back in January of 2003. In my opinion the attorney has done very little then the minimum required (represent me at my once-a-year-hearing before the IJ - and even that is a waste of time...both hers and mine, as the court can't do anything until the USCIS has adjuciated my I-130). I had visited the charleston and atlanta field offices several time hoping to expedite things along. I even wrote to my congressman. The retainer agreement is a 2-page document mostly dealing with the payment of her legal fees, or rather the consequences of not paying her fees. The opening sentence states..."I (the client) retains the Law Office of (the attorney) to represent Client with respect to Removal Proceedings (Adjustment of Status Relief). The Law Office fee for this service will be $2500.00)". It goes on to say "Client understands that, regardless of the outcome of this matter, Client is responsible for the payment of any and all legal fees, as well as any and all expenses, including but not limited to......blah, blah, blah, .......The Law Office, makes no gurantees regarding the successful completion of any application filed with the DOL and its agents, or INS and its agents, etc...blah, blah, blah, .....If the Client ends the attorney-client relationship prior to the conclusion of the immigration matter or prior to paying the agreed upon legal fee, attorney fees will be billed at a rate of $250.00 per hour and Client will be provided with an itemized billing statement". There is also a statement about the Withdrawl of Representation by the Law Office in the event that payment are not made, and that such an action does not relieve the Client of any financial obligations for legal work already performed on the Client's behalf. So there you have it. The retainer says nothing about the attorney ending the client-attorney relationship prior to the conclusion of the immigration matter. As for the time in court, yes you are correct. We usually spend 2-3 hours waiting for my case to be called. When my name is called, its basically a 5-minute appearance before the judge. Had I known that she was going to jump ship half way through the proceedings, I would have never retained her as in the end it cost me more as I have to pay attorney fees for not one but two seperate lawyers. Do you not feel the client is getting a raw deal here? |
Re: Attorney Question
Hi Joe,
While I am no lawyer or anything, I think it's a very clear cut case. Your contract is very clear that your attorney will represent you for the entirety of this case, regardless of the outcome (positive or negative). I think she could only legally bail out in case you would need to go into appeal proceedings, but other than that, she has obliged herself to represent you untill the conclusion of the case. I am not sure about the exact nature of the contract, but I understand she accepted this case on a fixed fee basis, right? A fixed fee is exactly what it is, a 'fixed fee' for your attorney to complete a legal task, in this case represent you in the ongoing court case untill it's completion. Legally, your payment is an advance payment for her services, and if she defaults before the completion of her legal task, you are entitled a full refund of your payment as it isn't legally hers. Contract wise and legally, you are to pay her at the completion of her services, the fact that your fixed fee is payed in advance (as to enable her to proceed with your case, etc) has nothing to do with the fact that she is only entitled to it after completion of her legal tasks. It would contact the American Bar Association. I'm sure she doesn't want a bad rep sheet with them, and they can give a binding (or non binding) advice |
Re: Attorney Question
Joe,
I think there's a lesson here for us all. Maybe we need an attorney to review our agreements with other attorneies before we sign them. Regards, JEff [email protected] wrote: > ... > The retainer agreement is a 2-page document mostly dealing with the > payment of her legal fees, or rather the consequences of not paying her > fees. .....If the Client ends the attorney-client > relationship prior to the conclusion of the immigration matter or prior > to paying the agreed upon legal fee, attorney fees will be billed at a > rate of $250.00 per hour and Client will be provided with an itemized > billing statement". ..... The retainer says nothing about the > attorney ending the client-attorney relationship prior to the > conclusion of the immigration matter. > > .... |
Re: Attorney Question
Originally Posted by Martijn Vels
Hi Joe,
While I am no lawyer or anything, I think it's a very clear cut case. The OP's questions are well taken. However, this is NOT a "clear cut" area at all. Law practices are wound up all the time -- most often by death. [BTW, the one time I was on the receiving end of termination of professional practice by death was with the orthodonture for one of my daughters when she was a child]. If OP's former attorney was to post a "what should I do?" inquiry on an attorney chat group, the answers would go all over the place. The OP's statement are pregnant with the Latin term "quantum meriut." Also, this is a matter of STATE law and the rules of legal ethics can vary by practice from state to state. Many years ago I was substituted in on an immigration case where the client had moved from New York to California. When I sent my substitution and request to the New York attorney, I got the response "No file until he pays the fees still owing." Under California PRC such a response is a clear landmark on the Road to Perdition. I contacted the New York PR enforcment people and get the response -- "What are you complaining about? Haven't you ever heard of a 'charging lien'?" I'm not taking a position either way on OP's inquiries other than that it is a fair inquiry. If the attorney is admitted in SC, he might want to contact the South Carolina PR enforcement people. If admitted in another state, contact them. |
Re: Attorney Question
JEff wrote:
> Joe, > > I think there's a lesson here for us all. Maybe we need an attorney to > review our agreements with other attorneies before we sign them. > > Regards, JEff > I agree with Jeff. You now need a contract attorney to see if you have standing for a case against your immigration attorney. I'm interested to see what, if anything, Mr. F. has to say about this. |
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