Legal Question in Legal Ethics in California
I settled my divorce case several years ago, with a marriage settlement agreement. The court issued a QDRO for a 401k that my ex-husband's company had control over. My ex-husband filed a motion to change the terms of the QDRO to be different from what we had agreed on in the settlement. He lost that motion and has now appealed. (Whatever!)
My divorce attorney send me an e-mail that says she doesn't do appeals. Last month she filed a "notice of withdrawal" as attorney of record, under CCP SECTION 285.1. (Whatever!)
I then retained an attorney to handle my ex's appeal. When I went to pick up my file, the attorney says I have to pay her $500.00 for her copying my file. Do I have to pay this, or is this extortion?
2 Answers from Attorneys
The file is your property. If she wants a copy she should pay for it. On the other hand, I am aware of cases in which disgruntled lawyers have made important parts of the file disappear. Your call.
I disagree in part with Mr. Stone. Your representation agreement with your attorney most likely provides that you will pay all incidental expenses of the representation. That includes the costs the attorney must incur to keep the attorney's own legitimate records of the representation. So I think the attorney is entitled to bill you for the cost of copies. With that said, however, it is also a serious breech of legal ethics to withhold the client's file. Mr. Stone is correct that it belongs to you and it is illegal for the attorney to require payment as a condition of you picking up the file. If that is what the attorney is trying to do, you should file a complaint with the State Bar.
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