I'm having difficulties with my atty's office and would appreciate suggestions on how to proceed.

At first things seemed fine. Petition for divorce was drafted on a tuesday, filed on wednesday, stbx was served that friday. Stbx had 20 days to respond. I sat tight for the duration and called 11/10 for an update. I asked if any response was made and what's the next step. My call was never returned.

On 11/14 I visited the legal advocate at the women's shelter. She told me how to look up the matters of public record on the internet. As it turns out, stbx DID file a response on 10/29. By that time, the response was two weeks old! Now, I realize a proper response would have included a cc sent to my atty, which didn't happen, but that doesn't stop me from feeling ticked off at my atty's office. A secretary could've spent five minutes doing what took me much longer to learn about and pursue. I called atty's office again on 11/14 to inform them of the response and could I please have an appointment. That call never got returned either.

The pattern I'm seeing is every time I call the atty's office, the assistant answers. Each time he's with a client, is too busy to talk, says he'll call back and then doesn't. I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions on how to handle this.

At this point, I feel like I'm on the back burner and destined to stay there until I protest my doormat status. When it finally gets to be my turn, I believe this atty is capable and I'll go from dead calm to whirlwind. When that flurry of activity comes around, I want to be ready. I'd also appreciate comments about what documents I should have at my fingertips so I'll be ready to rock and roll.

I think you should find a different attorney. Mine is very busy. Doesn’t do much divorce any more and yet returns my calls within 48 hours. If it’s urgent he calls almost immediately.

You want copies of tax returns, his and yours if you file separately, copies of bank statements as far back as you can go, a list of assets, a list of liabilities (debts), a budget of your expenses, pre-nupt if you had one. And that’s pretty much it. Obviously, getting copies of his bank stuff is hard. I’m surprised you attorney didn’t ask you to get that stuff before you filed.

My first attorney rarely returned calls. I wish I had documented more. She wasted a great deal of my time. Write a letter to your attorney noting your telephone calls which have gone unreturned. Request a status of your case, noting the you only learned about his returned complaint from a different source than him.
If he's unable to take the time necessary for your easy case, how will it get resolved?

Good Luck.

Hi LH,

Hmmm how much have you paid him? How much does he get paid an hour? Can you figure out how much he has used of your retainer?

Send a certified letter outlining your grivances. Document everything. I would also point out that he is working for you and NOT doing his job. Suggest to him that the Bar might like to know about this. The bar govern all lawyers. But check out this link also: http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/findlegalhelp/trouble.html

About the reply your stbx made go to the court and discuss with the clerk about how you can obtain a copy. You need to remain on top of this now..not later.

gg, thanks for the laundry list of docs for me to line up. I got this atty's name from the women's shelter. They're not allowed to make recommendations, but the legal advocate did share with me some names of atty's she's seen in court. I live in a good sized city, but in many ways it's still a small town and very much a part of the 'good ol boys' mentality. My counselor at the women's shelter said every single one of her clients who's going through the court system has complaints about atty's not returning calls. Some of them don't even show up at court! I don't know that I can *find* an atty who's good about returning calls here! Here's the letter I sent to my atty today. Lord help me if they don't open their mail either.

--------

Enclosed is a copy of the response my husband filed at the courthouse. I am disappointed that I received no response to my phone calls placed November 10th and November 14th. I learned of the response at the courthouse with no assistance or guidance from your office.

On November 10th I asked if my husband had filed a response within the designated 20 days. I found my own answer and called November 14th to inform your office of the response. What is the next step is the other question I had on November 10th. I would like to know the answer. I would also like to know what you consider an acceptable method for contacting your office. My experience so far is one of feeling like your staff is too busy to handle my questions or return my calls.

Third, I would like to know what documentation I should have at my fingertips when it is my turn to receive some of your time. I will be out of town from November 25 through December 1. Whatever the next step might be, I want it to happen in December. I need assistance in learning what documents I should have available. A response by December 4th would be greatly appreciated.
----------

Ultimately, I can complain to the state bar, but I didn't see the point in pulling out all my guns in the first go 'round. People talk about a roller coaster ride around here. With this atty, I had a whirlwind ride the first week, and now I'm in a long wait for another turn. It's out of my mind for the next six days. I'm having a big family thanksgiving and that's the only thing I will consider important until next week. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="images/icons/smile.gif" />

Hi LH,

Here are some more links for you to look at:

Laws for Texas:
http://public.findlaw.com/family_law/fl_tx_codes.html

divorce support:
http://www.divorcesupport.com/

I have a site with all the forms needed for each state but having a hard time finding it. I will keep looking.

Hope these two help.