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Step 1
Review your payment agreement and account invoice. If you signed an agreement, it might detail how to terminate the relationship. In most personal injury cases, the attorney is working on a contingency basis, meaning she is only paid from any awards won in court or through negotiations. Request an invoice and pay it off. If the bill has already exceeded your ability to pay, which is quite likely, the attorney will still be owed the funds from any award won with another lawyer.
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Step 2
Hire another lawyer. To avoid being left without legal representation and possibly prejudice your case by missing important deadlines, get another attorney involved as soon as possible. This can also help with any lingering issues involving the old lawyer, particularly pertaining to fees and costs.
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Step 3
Send a certified letter. Terminate your relationship in writing, and specify the date and time of termination. This will help avoid any confusion as to your expectations for the attorney's services and his claims for fees and costs.
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Step 4
Notify the court. If your case has advanced to the trial stage, meaning there's been a complaint filed, the court and all other parties must be notified of the change in your representation. Depending on how far the case has progressed, the court might have to formally dismiss the old attorney and admit the new one to the case through special pleadings. Your new attorney should be able to handle this, if necessary.
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Step 5
Get your file. Assuming you've paid your legal bill, your file is your property, and your new lawyer is going to need it to continue your case. But, if there is a dispute about the bill, getting the file could become an issue. If this is the situation, ask your new attorney to help in the negotiations and confirm her share of any eventual award or settlement. The old attorney can ship your file (charging you for the shipping, of course), but it's usually better to pick it up in person or through a representative.
