First, to ease your concern, the answer is yes! You still have a case, as long as you are not dropped due to a liability issue. Regardless of the reasoning, Rawlins Law is more than happy to review a dropped personal injury case from another lawyer.
If a lawyer does decide to drop your personal injury case, they will need to inform you and receive approval from the court. The Rules of Professional Responsibility do heavily encourage that attorneys work with their clients until the case has been resolved, but there are factors that may cause a lawyer to quit.
Mandatory reasons for a lawyer to leave mid-case could be if he or she becomes a crucial witness or if they have a conflict of interest. This is to maintain professional conduct throughout the case. An attorney must also withdraw if you are continuously involved in criminal activity.
Since your case is personal injury, likely from a car crash or another injury at the hands of someone else’s responsibility, criminal activity will likely be ruled out in this case.
Voluntary reasons can include a violation of the fee agreement by the client, the client unwilling to follow the attorney’s advice or an ongoing issue between the client and attorney that affects the attorney’s ability to represent them properly.
With Rawlins Law, we take your case without any out-of-pocket costs or upfront fees. We can’t stress it any easier. No recovery, no fee!
Regardless of the reason for withdrawal, the court is still required to approve of a switch in representation mid-case. This is assuming that the facts leading to termination are not still in dispute.
After dropping your case, the lawyer is then required to hand over the contents of your case files and refund any advance payment of fees or expenses that have not been earned. Moving forward, when hiring a new personal injury lawyer, they should meet your expectations and be willing to take on your case. You need to know if they will require a retainer and how long it will take to bring them up to speed. The new lawyer will need to spend a significant amount of time learning the facts and reviewing the law that is relevant to the case. The court will need to approve of this substitution as well.
Call Rawlins Law
If you or a loved one have been dropped by a lawyer, reach out and talk to Rawlins Law. Firm founder Ashley Rawlins provides honest, ethical, and compassionate representation, and she will give you clear information on where your case stands and what she needs from you to win it! To schedule a free consultation, please call the Rawlins Firm at 858-257-8778.
