Legal Question in Construction Law in California

The court has no interest in the relationship between you and your attorney nor in settlement discussions except to the extent the court can help a case settle. Your attorney has no legal power to settle without your consent. If he thinks you are being unreasonable, however, he is free to see if the other side will accept an offer in order to avoid appeal or the cost of collecting on your judgment, and if they agree, then try to persuade you it is in your interest to settle on those terms. I personally think that is poor client service, but it is neither illegal nor any violation of any ethical obligations. In addition, the trial bar is a fairly small community. It is not unusual for lawyers to be friends with other lawyers they are adversaries to in the courtroom. That does not mean they are not giving 100% effort to achieve the best result they think they can get for their client. If you really think you are not being properly served by your attorney, however, then find another one. There is no legal reason you can't do that at this stage, and if you think your attorney has mishandled your case, you can report them to the state bar and/or file a malpractice action against them. But you will not get anywhere with either of those things if all they have done is proposed a settlement without your approval, as long as they have not lied and said it was authorized by you. You control whether you settle or not. How you and your lawyer arrive at a settlement you can live with is a professional service issue, not a legal one, and definitely not one the court would care a whit about. Lastly, it is illegal for you to communicate with the court without providing a copy to the other side. Not usually a good idea to reveal dissent between attorney and client to the other side. Just give them a strategic advantage.