How to Tell If Your Lawyer is a Red Flag

Ever stared at a legal mess and thought, How do I pick the right lawyer without getting burned? We take you from vague recommendations to a clear, confident selection process that protects your wallet, your case, and your peace of mind.

We start where most people do: referrals. They’re useful, but not a strategy. We explain how to vet attorneys beyond word of mouth with state bar records, Google reviews, and pointed interview questions that reveal judgment and workflow. You’ll hear how to tell if a firm’s size helps or hurts your case, who will actually touch your file, and how strong communicators keep you informed when deadlines hit. We compare billing models with real-world incentives—why a higher hourly rate can cost less overall, when flat fees work for defined tasks like prenups, and why flat fees often fail in contested family law and complex litigation.

We also push back on Hollywood myths after reacting to the All Is Fair trailer. TV loves fireworks; real court rewards preparation, professionalism, and emotional control. Judges notice demeanor, and sanctions are real. We share how the best lawyers balance passion with restraint, give you realistic outcomes, and say no to motions you don’t need. Then we answer a listener dealing with an unresponsive attorney, laying out practical steps to document communication, demand updates, and navigate liens if you switch firms on a contingency case.

If you’re choosing a divorce lawyer, employment lawyer, or personal injury attorney, this conversation gives you the checklist and confidence to lead. You’re the captain; your lawyer is the steering wheel. Ask sharper questions, expect clear plans, and pick the team that treats your case like it matters.

If this helped, follow the show, share it with a friend who’s lawyer-shopping, and leave a quick review so others can find it too.

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🎙️ Hosts: Ilona Antonyan & Mila Arutunian
📲 Follow us on IG: @glamorousgrindpodcast

Transcript

Why Choosing The Right Lawyer Matters

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Lawyers don't act like this. Red flag. Something happens in your life and you realize I'm gonna need a lawyer for this.

Where People Find Attorneys And Why It’s Risky

SPEAKER_00 0:08

But how do you pick which one? A study in 2024 showed that 39% of people pick their attorney based on a recommendation from a family member or friend. Hopefully, research into the individual follows because otherwise you are making a very important decision based on a phone call and a vibe to act. Welcome to the Glamorous Grind. Today is all about the importance of choosing the right attorney.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

We want to help you learn what to look out for when vetting attorneys for your case, whether it's for a divorce, a car accident, or sexual harassment case.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

We'll tell you what questions to ask when interviewing attorneys, if the new show All's Fair, depicts divorce attorneys in a realistic way, and what to do when you think the lawyer you hired is a red flag. Let's start at the beginning. You know you're in a situation where you need legal help. What do you do first? What questions do you ask attorneys you're interviewing to see if they know what they're talking about? Whose opinion do you trust? Let's get into it.

What To Ask When You Interview Lawyers

SPEAKER_01 1:24

I mean, if I was looking for an attorney, I would certainly ask my colleagues who they've used and who is good. I would also rely on my judgment. Who do I know in the industry, in the community that has a good reputation? However, even in my own experience, it doesn't always work. People who may have a good reputation or well known sometimes are not the best litigators in court. They may be very well liked by people, but it doesn't make them good attorneys. It's a hit or miss. Think naturally people first ask their family and friends, who do you recommend? Then if you trust your friend and if they had a good experience, then you go with their recommendation. Um, but people now also go to Chad GPT and perplexity and everything else. I think that's a hit or miss because I looked up, you know, what do I what does it say about me? And fortunately, I was very grateful to Chad GPT. It said great things about me. But then I also asked, who are the really top who are the top family law attorneys in San Diego? And some of the names I came up with, like I don't want to have that person as my attorney ever, if I have a lot at stake. But Chad GPT picked it up from some random website and said, okay, these are good lawyers. So I would not necessarily rely on Chad GPT, I would use it, but cross-reference. Also look on the state bar of California. It's very important. We do that when we try to hire lawyers. People apply for a job, including lawyers, and then you look them up on the state bar of California and they have either uh bar complaints against them that are public, or they may have lost their license in the past and have been inactive. So check whether they have any bar complaints against them.

SPEAKER_00 3:07

I would say the same things, but also when talking to your friends and family, I wouldn't just take a recommendation of who do you know is an attorney because I think a lot of people just say, oh, this person's a lawyer, call them. It's who have you used? And if you haven't used anyone, do you know anyone else who has done this and has because a lot of times you have big names, but you call the firm and they have a thousand attorneys. And you're gonna have there's a lot of good things about hiring big names, right? But the downside of it is you're probably not gonna have get individualized attention and maybe you don't need any, but a lot of times you do. Um, so finding someone who other people have used and had good experience with, someone who's responsive, someone who's empathetic. I mean, I've I've talked to people where they're like they hire a law firm and they don't hear from them or hear from an attorney. They don't know who's representing them. It's been six months, they don't know what's going on at the case.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

That wouldn't happen in family law.

Firm Reputation Versus Personal Fit

SPEAKER_00 4:04

No. I mean, it wouldn't happen in our practices. And in PI unemployment, we immediately make sure the client feels heard. We either schedule a Zoom call or a regular call, depending on what you know, how they feel. And we make sure they understand the process. Here's our plan. Do you have an issue with this plan? Before we send anything out, we get it clear by them. Can you just review this to make sure it accurately reflects what happened before we file it? You know, all of these things, we make sure the client is involved and comfortable at every step of the way. Um, and I tell them that, and and the clients will often ask me when when they're trying to retain, like, what if I want to settle it out, but you think it's too low? And I always tell them how I run my teams is that like you are in charge. You are literally the captain of the ship and I am your steering wheel. And my job is to tell you what I think you should do, but your job is to make the decision because what works for you in your life may not work for someone else in their life. And if you want to accept a lower settlement, that's on you. And I support that. So, you know, all of those things are very important. Um, and I would say if I'm hiring an attorney, those facts and that personalization is more important than the name of the firm.

Budgets, Teams, And Matching Clients

SPEAKER_01 5:22

I think the reputation of the firm and the name of the firm is important because certain firms have a reputation for a reason. They're known for quality of work, the caliber of their attorneys and their abilities. I can speak for our own firm. I think our all our family law attorneys, especially the partner levels, you know, you don't want to go against them. I think our personal injury and employment law department, same thing. I think when picking an attorney, you also need to see if you connect with them. Because some people just don't connect. You some clients want a male attorney, some clients want a female attorney. Sometimes not based on that at all, but more a personality match. Here at Antonio Miranda, we have a client intake department that will match people, new clients to an attorney that's probably gonna be best fit. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you don't get it right. Time shows, but the complexity of issues is relevant. The person's budget is relevant, their expectations, so that because if you have a certain budget, then you may want to have the best attorney and the partner and one of the largest firms in California, but if you can't do it, you may be able to still hire a firm, but one of their younger associates who will be working under the supervision of one of the partners and be able to give you a good strategy and advice as well as the backup of a large firm name, but you won't get the partner level, and that's okay too. I think looking at Google reviews is important. Those are generally natural reviews left by satisfied or unsatisfied clients. And if you see that someone only has you know two-star reviews online, although they may have been recommended by a friend of yours, I'd probably stay away from that.

SPEAKER_00 7:15

We've incorporated a segment into the show where we use clips from TV and movies to demonstrate legal concepts and debunk some myths people have about what litigation is really like. We'll call it real justice.

Reviews And Research That Actually Help

SPEAKER_01 7:33

We have received quite a few requests to react to the new hula drama All Is Fair about an all-female divorce law firm in LA. Neither of us have seen the show yet, so you'll be getting our first impressions. Let's watch the clip.

SPEAKER_03 7:48

Boys, do I love coming here? Walking down that hallway shaped like a clown service. These curtains, black May West, isn't just I love ticketing to exchange pleasant cocktail pleasantries. There is a war to be won.

SPEAKER_00 8:05

Looks like our background from our office. It just the whole vibe reminds us of reminds me of us.

SPEAKER_03 8:20

Wow. Here you go. Right this way. We need to tell a difficult story. We got married and we still understand. We were alive, it was all perfect, except for this one small thing. They are terrified of women in power. And women testing men in divorce? No. I love my job. Never filling out person. It's just a chat. Guess who's here with me right now? Trace, say goodbye to your future exploitation. Bye-bye. See you in a quarter before it's starting.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

Absolutely. Absolutely unrealistic. I mean, we're gonna make it second. I mean, I mean, part of my like who the hell would ever say that as somebody? No lawyer would ever act like this. Cut out my swearing, please. You're with me.

SPEAKER_02 10:21

Storm no one's up. You are not taking so much of a bumpoint peek out of this build. Enough etching counts for the next concretion.

SPEAKER_01 10:52

It doesn't look so interesting, honestly. Maybe because I practice family law, it doesn't look so great.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

The outfits though make me want to watch it.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

Well, you can just buy yourself a Vogue magazine and that'll be sufficient. I'm not a fan by watching the trailer. I'd rather watch Judge Judy and court shows than this.

SPEAKER_00 11:14

It's nothing like this. There's no open, hostile contention between the parties, right?

SPEAKER_01 11:22

Like well, the lawyers don't take things as personal. Like in this preview, she said, You unfertile bitch, I think. Unfertile career obsessed. Yeah, like that. People don't do that. I mean, that's harassment. And what lawyer would do that in someone's face?

SPEAKER_00 11:39

Could you get someone like a lawyer disqualified for treating an opposing party in that way?

SPEAKER_01 11:44

I think if you complain to the state bar, it's a professional. Probably the other side would write about this in declarations to the judge and family court and really embarrass that lawyer for acting that way.

SPEAKER_00 11:55

I mean, at the end of the day, uh society loves to make these, you know, lawyers on TV to be out to be these like glamorous, cool fighters, but like we read all day. You know what I mean? Like we read, we write motions, yeah, yeah, we'll go to court. But at the end of the day, it's fighting on paper.

Family Law Timelines Vs Civil Timelines

SPEAKER_01 12:17

Most of what we do is it's both. I think it's both. It's in family court, it's fighting a lot in court because we're in court pretty often. Yeah. You can use a lot more. The difference between civil litigation and family law litigation is you could get exparting notice, which is an emergency notice, by 10 a.m. a day before, and have to prepare pleadings and contact your clients and respond and defend against an emergency relief that's sought the next day. Unlike in civil court, you have to wait for approximately 18 months to maybe two and a half years to have your trial. It's very different in family court.

SPEAKER_00 12:54

Yeah, it is different in the civil system. I mean, you can go an ex-party if there's an exigent circumstance, some emergency situation you need a ruling ASAP on. But generally speaking, you file a lawsuit, they respond within 30 days, then you have a CMC set, which is a case management conference where the judge is basically like, hey, what's going on? And then you have discovery, and that takes forever. And yeah, usually hearings are set out two years down the line, and most of the time they're continued at least once for trial. So it takes at least two years, usually for most cases to get to the point where they're in trial.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

I think that but for Kim Kundardashian being in the show, it wouldn't be interesting. But what's probably intriguing for reviewers is to see a lot of famous celebrities in the show. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. But I I I'm just curious to see what is she like as an actress. Yeah. I agree. And I do like the outfits, I agree.

SPEAKER_00 13:47

I just uh I think that, but even with all those famous actors on there, the show has rated so badly everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

I would not hire a lawyer that acts like that. I mean, there are times when you have to stand up for your client, and if somebody's being a jerk to your client, being disrespectful, you have to put them in their place. That's what we're hired to do to protect them. But um, no, I wouldn't hire someone who acts like that and is so fool of themselves because they're gonna get you sanctioned. In family court, they'll get you sanctioned. They're gonna give bad advice because maybe their ego is on the line instead of putting client's insurance first. And that's gonna not only increase costs of litigation, but will make the client look bad in front of a judge.

Professionalism, Sanctions, And Judge Perception

SPEAKER_00 14:29

I live and die by the fact that to me, like being an attorney is such a prestigious profession, and it should be professional. And there are professional ways to fight for your clients, there are proper ways to do that. And when you're acting unprofessionally like that, I just don't see anyone like that really in real life winning a case because the judge is just not gonna like them. And especially in family law court, from what I've seen, and I have limited experience, but the judge is the jury, right? So they make the decisions. And when most judges see an attorney acting in this type of unprofessional manner, they're not gonna like them, they're probably not gonna like their client, and they're probably not gonna make rulings for them. Acting in that manner shows complete lack of self-control and emotional intelligence. And I think the best attorneys are the ones that can remain calm and chaos, that are not gonna let their emotions affect how they act. Um, I think that's the best people in life, the smartest people, the strongest people are not gonna allow their emotional state to rule their reactions. So if you have an attorney that's so emotional about how they're gonna be treating the opposing side, probably not a good attorney.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

But look, I can say here I'm flat and emotionless about my cases. I'm passionate about my cases. But the way that that energy and passion for the case comes out is it drives me to do better. Make a better argument, to be better prepared, to you know, think out the box. But I think there's difference in being passionate and feeling strongly for your client and their cause and aligning with them and what they want and their goals versus just being a mouthpiece and repeating what they're saying, like your friend who is not a lawyer would do. Your lawyer is not necessarily your friend, your lawyer is there to advance your position because and they cost a lot of money to advance you and your cause. Um, they can be your friend. Yeah, from a legal perspective. They are your friend, it's good to have a friend, but lawyers are expensive, so use them wisely, right?

SPEAKER_00 16:51

Okay, for red flag, green flag this week. We are looking at attorney behaviors and if it signals whether or not you've got a good one. Here are three scenarios. Scenario one, constantly can't find documents or ask you to send the same information repeatedly. Red flag. Red flag.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

Now there are times when different people within the firm from different departments may ask for the same documents at different times. But if you have one attorney that asks for the same information multiple times, that means they're not scanning things, they're not saving them, maybe they don't have sufficient support staff, or they're very disorganized.

Passion Without Drama: How Good Lawyers Act

SPEAKER_00 17:35

I would say uh those would all be excuses. If if I send an attorney something, it's in their email. And if they can't find it, that's on them. To me, I'm sorry, I know I'm not nice. How you do anything is how you do everything. So if an attorney is gonna be disorganized and call me constantly for the same document, that means they're gonna be disorganized in other things, maybe miss a hearing and I'm gonna have to follow up on things. Like I'm not just I'm just not gonna pay for that service. If I'm paying money, I expect good service. And so definitely a red flag for me.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

I agree. I guess I've paid enough attorney fee bills on behalf of the firm where I sometimes let things like that go because I know that the firm dealing with is a large firm and I have senior level, junior level attorneys working. They have other staff, and I feel like, okay, well, they may have a hard time finding it because I send it to someone else, and that someone else maybe has it in their folders. So I personally, and paying our own attorney's fees on certain matters, have let that go because I understand that it can happen.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

I mean, people don't always like they someone might someone might uh might think like this email or document is not that important, but it's one thing if like once or twice they lose a document, but I think the scenario is like they're constantly not able to get in touch with them and they're just kind of slacking.

SPEAKER_01 19:00

No, you don't want a lawyer like that at all.

SPEAKER_00 19:02

And there are so many lawyers like that, right? Like there are so many lawyers, and I know a lot of people are overworked. I get it. Um, being a lawyer is very difficult, it's not easy, but like if I'm paying for a service, I accept, I expect, you know, the service to be well done. And that means if there's a constant pattern of disorganization, it's not someone I would want to do.

Red Flag: Disorganization And Lost Documents

SPEAKER_01 19:24

Absolutely. Yeah. You give people a chance or two, and if it doesn't work, yep. Scenario two tells you the realistic outcomes and advises against unnecessary emotions or actions that could waste your time and money in court. Green flag. Absolutely a green flag, especially in family law. Our job is to strategize and ensure that one client wants to retaliate because against the other side because they hate them, because they cheated on them, or they're not letting them see the kids, or whatever it may be, to advise them to take the right course of action to see it from different perspectives and say if you take this step, this is what's gonna happen. If you do this, this is what may happen. It's your life, you decide what you want to do. I'm gonna advise you that if you take this action, you potentially may be sanctioned. And guess what? You're gonna be paying these sanctions out of your own pocket, and you look bad in front of the judge, so don't do it. But if the client ultimately decides to do it, our choice is to either not represent them if we don't agree with them, or to represent them and defend them to the extent we can.

SPEAKER_00 20:34

You know, this kind of goes back to what we were saying before of your lawyer is not supposed to be your friend. I think a good attorney is going to properly advise their client on the best strategy. You work on an hourly basis. So you, as someone who wants to make money, would have every incentive to overbill, do all the motions, do all the sanctions. So if you're telling your client they want to file a motion and you're like, hey, I don't think we need to file this. I hope that they can appreciate the fact that you're actually saying no to billing more time. And now I charge on contingency, but when I was on the defense side, I charged by the hour and we had a high hourly rate. And I had all of my clients who I worked with wanted to come back to specifically have me handling their cases because my approach was always like jump in, look at all the facts, good facts, bad facts, and be like, how can we resolve this? I never wanted to overbill my clients, even though it was counterintuitive and my bosses didn't really like it all the time because I avoided unnecessary emotions when a lot of difficulty.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

I don't like hearing that. That that's I mean, having to also pay attorney that I don't like hearing that that's the incentive. I just trust that all attorneys will be ethical about their billing and only do what's necessary.

Green Flag: Realistic Advice That Saves Money

SPEAKER_00 21:49

Especially, I mean, I don't want to throw anyone under the bus, but like insurance defense attorneys are the worst at this because they will work up unnecessarily every case. Sometimes we'll file a lawsuit or make a claim, and even though it's a very strong claim, those attorneys will refuse to even talk about settlement. They're like, go ahead, file a lawsuit. Pretending that they're like playing a game of chicken. I'm like, motherfucker, you just want to bill your client a shit ton of money that they don't need to bill. This worth is this case is probably worth$50,000 today. We take it into two years of litigation, it's gonna be$200,000 and you're gonna owe me my fees. You're not even gonna offer a fucking penny right now because you want to like build your client. But I don't understand how those clients, I mean, I guess if the clients don't know what they're doing, but my clients, especially if you're representing a company, a big company, and the person you're reporting to is a CEO or some executive or an in in-house counsel, how they can approve of these things.

SPEAKER_01 22:47

Well, I think the difference in the insurance defense industry, and I dealt with that when I practiced personal injury. You're correct. They often don't ignore, they ignore the plaintiff's attorney, they don't respond, they don't call back, and I don't know what they do on the back end, but they bill at a very low rate relative to what divorce attorneys or other civil litigation firms do. I think the insurance company bills them at like$130 to$165. So back in the day, a lot of I don't know what it is now, but they have incentive to increase their time and maximize it to the extent possible so that their law firms can survive. And the quality of those attorneys are often not as good, too, in my experience.

SPEAKER_00 23:24

Huge turnover. Yes. But the thing is the insurance companies think that they're saving money by hiring those attorneys. Yeah, their hourly rate may be lower, but they're ending up billing more and then the case value goes up as it goes into litigation because keeping in mind the plaintiff's attorney is gonna expend costs and then they're gonna want more money to settle out the case, as opposed to if you settle out the case at the beginning before the plaintiffs have had any costs, then they're gonna be willing to settle it out cheaper.

SPEAKER_01 23:53

I'm a strong believer in hiring the best attorney, even if their hourly rate is very high relative to others. Yep. Because if you get someone who knows what they're doing, who's an expert in their field, it'll take them five minutes to solve a problem and have an answer at a higher rate versus someone else who doesn't have an experience who's gonna research how to solve the problem a lot longer. And as an example, if you have an attorney who charges$1,000 an hour and you ask them a legal question based on their experience, litigation experience, at least in family law, they'll know right away how it's gonna go. They don't have to do legal research or not much of it. They'll give you an answer in 0.1 of an hour. So may cost you, you know, six minutes of one hour, 60 bucks to get an answer. As compared to someone who may charge$300 an hour, but doesn't have the experience, has to look for an answer, may tell their paralegal to do their research, and the paralegal may charge, you know,$200 or$150 an hour, and then they'll give it to the lawyer, and then the lawyer has to review it. It may take them a half an hour to an hour. So that may cost you about$500, and not only will you you wait longer for an answer, but it may not be the right answer or not as good.

Billing Incentives, Overworking, And Case Value

SPEAKER_00 25:16

In the system, you get what you pay for. With everything, you get what you pay for. I mean, there's no shortcuts. If you want a good attorney, you have to pay money for it. So scenario three, charges a flat fee. Okay, so I'm gonna raise both because any litigation matters where you don't know where the case is gonna end up, how much work is gonna be required, you cannot guarantee anything, right? You don't know what issues are gonna come up and you have to litigate. That is an absolute red flag because if you paid your attorney a flat fee, he or she will have no incentive to advocate for you and really spend the time necessary to litigate those issues. However, I think for administrative contracts, like if you're drafting a will or you have a prenup, you need them to draft a contract where there's really no surprises. You know exactly what you need from that attorney and they can assess prior to jumping into the facts how many hours they're gonna need to probably spend on it. In that situation, I think a flat fee is a green flag, um, so long as the attorney has good reviews, because either way, they're gonna spend the same amount of time. So if they have a flat fee system that they've utilized throughout the years, that means they probably will um do the amount of work that they need to do under that flat fee system.

SPEAKER_01 26:38

I agree with you. I don't believe in flat fees and family law matters. Uh flat fees and family law are uh no, no, no. Here's why. Most family law matters, especially when they have children, end up having some sort of a dispute. And when there is a dispute, someone needs to advocate for you. To advocate for you, it takes time, it takes investigation, speaking with you, getting documents, analyzing them, making convincing arguments, writing letters, bringing motions. If someone charges you a flat fee and you have a dispute, you're not in full agreement, then that attorney who charges a flat fee has no incentive to work hard for you or to do anything but bare minimum. And the reason I know that is because when I was a new lawyer, I went against attorneys who charge flat fees. And we would go to trial, and these attorneys would be unprepared, they don't have their documents, they don't know their client's story, they just showed up to be there, but were very ineffective. So you might as well represent yourself rather than have a flat fee attorney or hire a good attorney or a firm that you may not be able to afford on an advice and consult basis so that they can tell you what to do, how to do it, and help you present the documents to court or make arguments in a convincing fashion so because you know your facts and your case better. You just need to be prepared to do it better than an attorney who will charge a flat fee and show up to court unprepared, who has probably a hundred other cases like that, and it won't do any good. I haven't seen justice being served and people who are in litigation and are charged a flat fee. Because the more work your attorney does on a flat fee, the less that attorney gets paid per hour. And those that do offer that structure are usually not very good lawyers. It's time for Let's Get Gritty. We got a message from a listener in San Francisco. He asks, My attorney never has time to call me. All I want is an update on my case. It has been three months since we sent the demand letter to the company that fired me after I asked for disability accommodations. He doesn't answer the phone, and every time I get a call back from his office, it's a different person or a paralegal that has just cut up on my case. Is this normal? Did I hire the wrong guy?

SPEAKER_00 29:10

I would say yes, he hired the wrong guy for sure.

SPEAKER_01 29:13

Totally hired the wrong guy. He probably has bad reviews too with mine.

Why Expertise Can Cost Less Overall

SPEAKER_00 29:17

So me is like, especially in this particular situation, this individual, I mean, even hearing the question, he was fired after he had a disability. I mean, he's going through a tough time. He probably is struggling to have an income. Like that if the attorney is not empathetic of that and can't pick up the phone and give an update on a case, that's not an attorney you want to have on your side.

SPEAKER_01 29:37

Well, it's also a violation of our duty of communication because we have a duty to communicate with our clients, call them back and keep them informed about the status of the case. This also indicates this attorney doesn't have a good system in place or case management. If he's too busy because he's litigating, he should have someone else that keeps the clients informed and calls them back, whether it's paralegal, legal assistant, or a case management.

SPEAKER_00 30:00

And someone who's empathetic and who's aware of the client's case and w what they're dealing with at any given time. It's the worst. And I hear it all the time where they're like, I hired this attorney two years ago and I don't really know what's happening.

SPEAKER_01 30:13

I think we got a call this morning that a guy called saying that he hired a law firm three years ago and he doesn't know what's going on. He's under switch.

SPEAKER_00 30:20

Can you guys represent me? But the problem is there's often usually there's a lien on the case. Yeah. Um and especially if they've worked it up for a long time, um, it's a substantial lien and another firm can't really just jump in and take over.

SPEAKER_01 30:34

And when she says lien, we're talking about personal injury matters or cases that are taken uh on contingency, meaning the law firm gets a percentage of what we recover for the client. So if a client wants to switch firms years into litigation, the first law firm that's representing that client is going to be entitled to receive what's called quantum marriage, which is reasonable compensation for the work they've done. Some law firms keep track of their time and some don't, but they can hold up the settlement of the entire case or hold you up later and not being able to cash check and disperse it and ask for a large chunk.

Flat Fees: When They Work And When They Don’t

SPEAKER_00 31:15

My advice to this person would be to uh get it in writing, um, send a written email saying, you know, and and document. I have reached out on several occasions, it's been X amount of months, I need an update on this immediately, or I'm gonna have no choice but to switch firms. I've had this situation before where the client wasn't getting an update, and we kind of they they didn't want to be represented by that law firm anymore, but they just were not responsive. And they sent that email and the attorney still didn't respond. And then the client asked us to come in and take over. And I reached out to the attorney and I was like, listen, like, are you gonna have a lien on this case? Because from my understanding, you haven't done anything. And usually they'll they would waive their lien in that situation. But definitely, and I say this on every episode, I think, document it, document everything because just calling, you know, having conversations, no one's gonna ever remember that. But if you have something in documentation clearly showing that that attorney is breaching their duty to you, it is very strong, and it's gonna either incentivize them, A, to respond and give you an update and be more proactive on your case, or B, if they don't, then you go and hire another firm, and that firm is gonna have a strong argument for your prior firm to waive their lien on the case because of their non-responsiveness. Advocacy is glamorous. Be your own advocate and take an active role in standing up for yourself. That starts with picking the team that will stand beside you.

SPEAKER_01 32:46

Ultimately, you're the one responsible for your life. When something happens that is out of your control, taking legal action can help you course correct and get that power back. It is not selfish or greedy to go after those who have wronged you.

SPEAKER_00 33:01

It's intimidating picking an attorney who's a good fit for you. We hope this conversation takes some of that stress off and arms you to be ready to choose your fighter with confidence.

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There's a lot of messaging in the media that lawyers are inherently untrustworthy, but in my experience, that generally isn't the case. With thoughtful questions and some research into the firm or individual, you can be confident the attorney you pick is a good one.

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Hit that subscribe button and make sure to follow us. And if you've got a good question for it, let's get ready, leave it in the comments or send it to podcast at antonianmoranda.com. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time on the glamorous grind.