Legal Question in Legal Malpractice in Maryland

Re: Charged $5000 but case dropped

The answer to your question depends on the nature of the agreement you made to retain the services of the attorney. First of all, if you wanted to bring criminal charges against someone, you would go to the prosecutor (state's attorney) in your county, or the county where the act took place, not to a private attorney. If you went to this attorney for the purpose of instituting a civil suit for damages you sustained from this third party, then he/she would have either taken the case on one of two bases. If it was on a contingency fee, this means you would only owe a fee if you got a recovery. But if you agreed to pay a fee for services performed based upon time spent by the attorney, then the attorney would probably be entitled to compensation for any investigative time spent to see if you had a valid case. All of that should have been discussed at the outset, and should be spelled out in a written fee agreement.

All that being said, you could file a complaint with the Attorney Grievance Commission if you feel the attorney misrepresented his/her qualifications to handle the case, or didn't perform the services expected, or with a fee arbitration committee of the bar association in your county. Either of these organizations will investigate the matter at no expense to you.