Can an attorney enter into negotiations with opposing council without my prior knowledge or consent? I hired an attorney to represent me in a TRO case, and my goal is make it permanent, but my attorney is on another page. First my attorney sends a copy of the hearing notice to my ex in regular U.S. mail, uncertified and with NO return request just for grins... and all this is BEFORE he hires a process server (which was suppose to be included in his $2,500 upfront fee). Upon receiving my attorney's notification, my ex immediately gets his own attorney who then advised him to just avoid service in an attempt to get the case dismissed for failure to personally serve the respondent.

ALLEGEDLY... my attorney was contacted by the respondent's attorney who supposedly requested an out of court stipulation be reached. I rejected this upon hearing of it. Now it is two continuances, and weeks of watching my ex intentionally avoid personal service from two attempts by the sheriff and three different process servers later. And to make matters more interesting my attorney has the gall to say "well the case will just be dismissed, and by the way you owe me $$ for hiring the process servers".

But to top it all off, my attorney he sends me a letter stating that the respondent "rejected" OUR proposed out of court stipulation... the very one from opposing council that I rejected in the first place. OMG... can anyone please help me make sense of this? M

A proposed settlement should not become final until you have signed it. What your attorney may have intended is to discuss terms of a settlement with the other attorney pending your approval. But I agree with you: it was improper for him to make a proposal without your being on-board with it. And one never knows: it could have been that he would have signed a settlement before getting your agreement. I don't know.

I would firmly instruct him not to discuss any settlement with any attorney allegedly representing your ex until that attorney first files an entry of appearance in behalf of your ex. Such an appearance would make service of the motion for the TRO unnecessary. It may of course still be necessary to serve the actual TRO, once awarded, on the party restrained by it.

A temporary restraining order (T.R.0.), by-the-way, can be entered without service of process upon the restrainee, if you can demonstrate what efforts you have made to get that person served, and that you would suffer harm unless the order is immediately granted.

Im sure you discussed you case with your lawyer before he/she took it on. In doing so you were giving them instruction on a outcome of your request. Its not unusual for a settlement to be sought outside the courts and then be ratified by the courts. Its much cheaper for you in the long run.

Example:

Your laywer spends 3 hours on a meeting and charges 200 per hour. You get charged 600 dollars and its over.

You instruct your laywer to go to a hearing so when he gets in his car the clock starts ticking. He spends 2 hours driving back and forth and another 4 hours in court plus any other requirements to get the job done.
That's 6 hours or 1200 dollars and if you lose you still pay.

Most lawyers are charging way more then 200 per hour for family law services and a retainer of 5,000 - 10,000 is not unheard of at all.


Every time you call him the meter is ticking. Im sure you can burn through 2,500 rather quickly with no results at all.

Hello v:

If it was me, I'd FIRE him and sue him. Yes, I expect competence, and if I don't get it, I want my money back.

excon

I would agree if he did something without asking me, I would fire him.

But also, 2500 up front is super cheap, I can not even start any contested legal work without 5000 min down.
2500 would maybe be the upfront for something where there is no fight

Thanks again all... I cannot fully express my gratitude for the information you're providing today.

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AK lawyer -- I would firmly instruct him not to discuss any settlement with any attorney allegedly representing your ex until that attorney first files an entry of appearance in behalf of your ex. Such an appearance would make service of the motion for the TRO unnecessary.

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Thanks so much for this information. In addition to requesting that my attorney ask this of opposing council (if I keep him), is this something I can also request in a motion to the judge?

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AK lawyer -- A temporary restraining order (T.R.0.), by-the-way, can be entered without service of process upon the restrainee, if you can demonstrate what efforts you have made to get that person served, and that you would suffer harm unless the order is immediately granted.

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Is that true in California, I keep hearing that it's rare for a judge to grant this regardless of grounds. I believe that after several attempts by the Sheriffs and process servers with signed affidavits should do it. However, what is my recourse if the judge refuses a request for alternative service, and dismisses my case anyway? Can I appeal a dismissed case?