Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Pennsylvania

A lawyer is not permitted to hold your file hostage, even if you still owe him money. If you don't owe him money, you should absolutely be entitled to your file. Finally, at the time you retained this lawyer, the rules provide that you should have signed a fee agreement, or at the least, the lawyer should have sent you a letter setting forth with specificiry, the scope of his representation and any fee arrangement. If the lawyer failed to do this, he has not acted in accordance with the rules of professional conduct.

Specifially, a lawyer is not permitted to take any actions which might prejudice your rights. If such is the case, you should go to the web site of the PA Disciplinary Board and download a complaint form. Fill the form out and attach any relevant documents and return it to the DB. The DB will likely contact the lawyer for his side of the story. Nothing spurs an attorney into action more than a contact from the Disciplinary Board.

At the same time your complaint should not be frivolous and you should be able to demonstrate a good reason why you want the file (possible malpractice, expungement, information needed by a subsequent lawyer).