Firing a lawyer

[Claus]

Dear Nigel,

I turn to you again in despair! We have not heard from our laywer in almost four weeks. She does not answer our emails, nor respond to our phone calls. In the four months the process has taken, we have gotten nowhere.
Can we just fire her and request that she sends us our deposit and all our papers back? Can we get into some legal trouble? I am not sure that we want another lawyer; we are so fed up with the whole thing that we might just want to forget the whole thing!

Thanks!

Claus

[Nigel Howarth]

Dear Claus

There should be no problem discharging your current lawyer. What you'll need to do is settle your account and then ask that she sends your file to your new lawyer (assuming you wish to continue with another).

Here's a draft discharge letter:

• Dear Ms xyz
  
  Please accept this email as notice of my intention to discharge you as my lawyers henceforth
  
  As I have paid a retainer for your services for the current year/paid your invoice in full, no further charges are payable. (Delete as appropriate)
  
  Please send my file to;
  
  (insert name & address of your new lawyer)
  
  Thank you for your prompt attention.
  
  Yours faithfully,

(I suggest that you send it registered post and email).

Once you've signed a contract you're obliged to fulfil your obligations - I doubt very much that you'll be able to just forget about the whole thing

As I mentioned elsewhere, the British High Commission in Nicosia publishes a list of English speaking lawyers. You can download that list from http://ukincyprus.fco.gov.uk/en/help-fo ... al-lawyers

Regards,

[Claus]

Thanks! We have not signed any contract. She has sent us a draft contract, and we have expressed our reservations about that contract and requested some changes. We are also waiting for her to inform us about her search results. Why that would take her 3-4 months we do not understand.

It has been such an exhausting process that I do not see how we can start all over again with a new lawyer.