Legal Question in Personal Injury in Massachusetts

A client can always fire an attorney. If the lawyer is representing your daughter on a contingency basis, he or she is entitled to the reasonable value of his or her services. Any new lawyer you may hire will want to address the first lawyer's lien before agreeing to be retained. Sometimes the lawyer will agree to waive his or her lien. If the lawyer secured an offer to settle for x amount and you rejected the settlement, he or she will have a good argument that, if the case eventually settles for a higher amount, that he or she is entitled to be paid 1/3rd of x.

You haven't given enough facts. You can always switch lawyers but there is always a possibility the lawyer is just being honest with you and telling you something you don't want to hear, and rather than accept the fact your daughter's case is not as great as you think it is you want to fire the lawyer. Any new lawyer will be particularly wary of you. The "high expectations" client is one who is apt to be unhappy with anyone. Maybe your first lawyer promised you the moon and the sky to sign you up, and now the harsh reality has hit and you either accept what is being offered or go to trial. Please be clear - - your lawyer is not the one who either gives or does not give you what the "money she deserves," it is the jury. The jury will be a lot less close to the situation than you and a lot more dispassionate in doling out money. Sometimes when the parent has crazy expectations it is the parent who is replaced (not the lawyer) and a guardian ad litem appointed to make decisions for the minor plaintiff. Whatever settlement is arrived at must be approved by a judge. This means your lawyer would not be recommending a settlement that is unreasonable since it would not be approved, he would be wasting his time. Food for thought.