Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois
Ethical Practices
My exwife works as a Paralegal and knows most all of the Attorneys in the area where I live. It has also been brought to my attention the lawyer I used to modify my support was acquainted with her and had possibly worked with her in the past - he did not mention this to me. As I review my order that was drawn up by him a lot of things seem to help her out more than me, I trusted him. Is this a conflict of interest and do I have any recourse. Is it worth it to bring this up or will I only make matters worse since she knows most of the judges also, we are going back to modify for another child.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Ethical Practices
It depends on the extent of his relationship to your ex. If she worked with him or he had a close personal relationship with her, then you may have a good case for arguing that there was a conflict of interest. You have several types of recourse: (1) you can petition to modify support because you had a dishonest attorney; (2) you can sue the attorney for attorney malpractice and try to recover your legal fees and the difference in support; (3) you can contact the ARDC (Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission).
But I would hesitate to advise you to do any of this before deciding whether your support agreement was really so biased. Have an impartial attorney take a look at the agreement and advise you whether you were taken advantage of or if the attorney's work was reasonable.
Our firm handles both divorce and attorney malpractice. If you want to talk about your concerns, please feel free to give us a call.
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