Q.
I had a car accident last year. After the accident, I called my insurance agent, and he told me that he knew a lawyer's office and that they would contact me soon. Since this was my first accident in the United States, I didn't know what to do, so I said okay. The next day, I met the office manager and signed the contract. Since then, I've only contacted the office manager. And it's been a year since the accident, and the case is still not over. The office manager didn't call me back when I called him recently. And when I did, he didn't give me a clear answer. So I went to the office to talk to the lawyer in person. But the lawyer's secretary told me that the lawyer had gone to another country and wouldn't be coming back. What should I do in this situation? I've heard from friends that there are unethical law firms that don't pay their clients money that should be returned to them and money that should be paid to doctors.
A.
First of all, I am very sorry for your situation. However, this situation is not uncommon in Koreatown. The office managers work with insurance agents and are referred to cases by them. The office managers work under lawyers, who are usually older white lawyers. However, the lawyers usually leave everything related to the case to the office managers and leave without much involvement in the case.
When you become a lawyer, you swear an oath to uphold your duty to the public. One of these duties is to act ethically and faithfully in handling your client's case. A lawyer has a duty to communicate with their client, answer their questions, and explain the progress of their case. Failure to do so constitutes a breach of duty by the lawyer to their client, and can be filed with the California State Bar. The California State Bar will investigate whether the lawyer should be disciplined.
In your case, it seems that you should file a complaint with the California State Bar against your attorney, and at the same time, find a new attorney to handle your case immediately. The California State Bar website also provides information about all attorneys, including their schools, law schools, and most importantly, whether the attorney has a history of ethics violations. When hiring an attorney in the future, it would be a good idea to first check the attorney's information on the California Bar website ( https://www.calbar.ca.gov/ ).
For your information, physicians also have information about their school of origin, medical school training, and medical malpractice convictions or other disciplinary actions. You can find this information by physician’s name on the California Medical Board website ( https://www.mbc.ca.gov/ ).
Q.
I had a car accident last year. After the accident, I called my insurance agent, and he told me that he knew a lawyer's office and that they would contact me soon. Since this was my first accident in the United States, I didn't know what to do, so I said okay. The next day, I met the office manager and signed the contract. Since then, I've only contacted the office manager. And it's been a year since the accident, and the case is still not over. The office manager didn't call me back when I called him recently. And when I did, he didn't give me a clear answer. So I went to the office to talk to the lawyer in person. But the lawyer's secretary told me that the lawyer had gone to another country and wouldn't be coming back. What should I do in this situation? I've heard from friends that there are unethical law firms that don't pay their clients money that should be returned to them and money that should be paid to doctors.
A.
First of all, I am very sorry for your situation. However, this situation is not uncommon in Koreatown. The office managers work with insurance agents and are referred to cases by them. The office managers work under lawyers, who are usually older white lawyers. However, the lawyers usually leave everything related to the case to the office managers and leave without much involvement in the case. When you become a lawyer, you swear an oath to uphold your duty to the public. One of these duties is to act ethically and faithfully in handling your client's case. A lawyer has a duty to communicate with their client, answer their questions, and explain the progress of their case. Failure to do so constitutes a breach of duty by the lawyer to their client, and can be filed with the California State Bar. The California State Bar will investigate whether the lawyer should be disciplined. In your case, it seems that you should file a complaint with the California State Bar against your attorney, and at the same time, find a new attorney to handle your case immediately. The California State Bar website also provides information about all attorneys, including their schools, law schools, and most importantly, whether the attorney has a history of ethics violations. When hiring an attorney in the future, it would be a good idea to first check the attorney's information on the California Bar website ( https://www.calbar.ca.gov/ ). For your information, physicians also have information about their school of origin, medical school training, and medical malpractice convictions or other disciplinary actions. You can find this information by physician’s name on the California Medical Board website ( https://www.mbc.ca.gov/ ).