Legal Question in Admiralty Law in Florida

I went to mediation on my case, that is when I found out the other side offered a settlement, a couple of months before, and my lawyer never told me. He sat and read emails on his phone during mediation. The mediator asked if we we're boring him. He said he found out the night before mediation, that I had a compressed fracture, he said he was quite surprised. He commented to me that sometimes he wonders if his size (very obese) was the reason he sometimes loses jury trials. Did not have his papers ready for the mediation. So he used mine. He did not talk to any of my doctors about my case. When I asked him about that, he said "I'd do that if we had to go to trial".

I wish I had not been badgerred into a settlement. But I did. Now he wants 40% of the settlement. Do I have any recourse about not telling me about the offer? Anything I can do?


Asked on 8/04/09, 5:32 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Sarah Grosse Sarah Grosse, Esquire

Why did you post your question in admiralty law??

You need to discuss these issues with your attorney first. An attorney is required to present any settlement offer to his client, and the client has the ultimate say whether to accept or reject the offer. The contingency fee agreement is required to be in writing, so the attorney's % should not be a suprise now, although I will say that 30% is standard before trial. Whether or not your attorney provided the best representation for your case is subjective, and I will not comment on it.

Again, discuss this with your attorney first. You may retain another attorney to evaluate the first attorney's work and to perhaps negotiate the first attorney's fees. If you feel there has been malpractice, you should report it to the Florida Bar.

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Answered on 8/12/09, 9:39 am


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