I am quite sure I have the most useless lawyer in town. My husband filed for divorce last January, we filed a counter petition and asked for all the financial discovery documents back then. It is now October and he has not provider one piece of anything in the way of financial disclosure. My attorney's office is telling me that I have to go to a mediation appointment they set for me for tomorrow or else I will be sanctioned and will have to pay for mediation costs including my ex husband's costs for mediation. It seems to me that it is not in my best interest to go to mediation until I have a chance to review the ex's discovery documents (which he has not provided). My attorney set up this appointment a couple of months ago, and I immediately told them to cancel it until he provides these documents. They did not do that. The mediation is tomorrow and my attorney's office is telling me if I don't go, I will be held in contempt of court. Here are the exact words in their email to me: "we are court ordered to attend mediation - every family law case is. If we don't go tomorrow, you will be sanctioned by the court and ordered to pay the cost of mediation, as well as the possibility of paying husband's name) attorney's fees." All of this seems ridiculous to me. I am in a pickle in that if I express to them how riduculous it sounds, I run the risk of them telling me to find another attorney, then I haven't the funds for another retainer as my ex took every penny we had when he left.

The ex has not done what was ordered in a temporary needs hearing either and my attorney has not enforced that since it was ordered last March. (He was ordered to pay for $800 in auto repairs for my car to get it to a safe driving state). She just keeps telling me we will address it in mediation.

Please tell me if their office is telling me a lie in that I have to attend mediation tomorrow, or if we should (as I think is in my best interest) wait for mediation until after the ex gives over the discovery docs. Thanks

Go to the mediation. It's doubtful that the session will be productive without the discovery, but you aren't required to agree to anything, just be there. It's a hurdle you have to get past.

Get that done, and then have your attorney ask that your husband be sanctioned for violating the discovery rules and the temporary needs order.

But why has my attorney not already had him sanctioned, and now expects me to go pay hundreds of dollars for useless mediation? This does not seem in my best interest. How hard is it to sue my attorney for malpractice?

What are the rules for going to mediation, and why does it have to be done as her office is saying, tomorrow? Why can't we make the appointment for after he provides the documents?

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Originally Posted by FLneedhelp

... useless mediation? ...

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It perhaps would be useless whether he had provided the discovery.

Mandatory mediation is a bad idea, in my opinion.

But who knows. Perhaps at mediation, it will work something like this:

Your husband says "this "ok. Sounds good. I'll think more about it when I get my discovery."

If it works out like that, mediation will have worked.

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Originally Posted by FLneedhelp

But why has my attorney not already had him sanctioned, and now expects me to go pay hundreds of dollars for useless mediation? This does not seem in my best interest. How hard is it to sue my attorney for malpractice?

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First, assuming mediation is mandatory in your state, if you want this case to be ever concluded, you have to jump through the mediation hoop. So best do it and be done with it. If that's the case, it is in your best interest.

Also, your attorney may have his or her reasons for not filing a motion before now. Have you asked? Perhaps it has something to do with getting paid for extra work above and beyond what was agreed.

Finally, yes, it's hard. I doubt that you can find another attorney to take such a case, even if you can prove that the few hundred dollars you had to spend on "useless mediation" was wasted. Another lawsuit for this amount of money isn't worth it.

Once a mediation date has been scheduled the court is notified of the date. Unfortunately mediation is one of the silly things that has to be gotten out of the way until any kind of resolution in a divorce action. Right now your attorney should have filed a Demand for Discovery and had the court brought sanctions against him for no financial disclosure. Just how was your contract with your attorney worded anyway? Some times they want more money to just file a Motion to Compel documents. Also it will make no difference if he has no documents at the mediation, it will only make him look foolish that he wasted everyone's time and money. You sure have a doozy of an attorney, I'll agree with you on that one.

And going to mediation usually is done when all discovery of documents are made. The mediation could have been rescheduled due to that reason but since it's tomorrow, there is not enough time to do this. Just show up and sit there as calmly as you can until it is over with. The mediator will see that the mediation should not have been held as both sides were unprepared to properly negotiate anything. Just happily tell your present attorney that she needs to get her behind in gear and file the appropriate motions and have the hearings to hold hubby in contempt and to have the judge sign the order to have him pay your attorney's fees for having to bring these motions before the court. That should get her attention as she will receive court ordered fees for herself.