Legal Question in Family Law in Wisconsin

Re: Changing attorneys in the midst of a divorce.

Hello,

The answer to your first question is yes. You can change attorneys for any reason or no reason.

And in this case you have a couple good reasons.

Your new attorney will take care of the paperwork, but you should notify the attorney you have now obviously. If you gave him a retainer and not all has been used up, you can get some money back from the attorney for that reason. Also, you can request that money be refunded to you for failure to disclose this situation and take the case. If she does not do so, you can possibily sue him and/or file a complaint with the ethics area of the State Bar of Wisconsin. Now it is not as though I hear about a case like this everyday, so I cannot say for sure if you are entitled to get your fees back or not. However, I know enough to say you can ask for them and you can file a complaint if you wish too. I am not sure how successful you will be, but there is only one way to find out. It doesn't seem to me that the lawyers should have continued in the case; this should have been disclosed to the clients and one or both should have backed out -- in my opinion. I wish you better luck with your next choice. Mark J. Mahoney 920-984-4529