Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Florida

I signed a "Closing Statement and Disbursement Agreement" with my attorney and received two checks totaling a smaller amount. Can the attorney send me a different amount than what we agreed to on the closing statement even if he made a mistake on the statement? Also, one of the checks is directly from the defendant and is not valid after 180 days. The check is over one year old and is possibly worthless. What should I do? I am afraid if I try to cash it, I may be out the money.


Asked on 7/27/10, 6:26 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Shelly Schellenberg MI & FL private practice

Your attorney must remit all funds that are owed to you. Are you saying that the attorney kept a check for over a year before giving this to you? Did your attorney deduct his/her fee from your proceeds and did you authorize this deduction, in your fee agreement with the attorney? If your attorney made a mistake, he/she may be liable for the error if the mistake caused you to lose money, due to the error not being corrected and the proper party charged on the closing statement. You may have a claim against your lawyer for legal malpractice. You will need a good attorney who specializes in this area of law to pursue your claims. I can refer you to a legal malpractice lawyer if you don't know how to go about finding one.

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Answered on 8/06/10, 11:17 am


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