Speaking generally, under the applicable court rules and at the court's discretion, it is possible to substitute a current attorney for someone else. However, please note that any substitution requires a timely filed motion or stipulated substitution which must be ruled upon by the judge. In certain circumstances, judges will not allow a substitution. Disputes and disagreements occur from time to time. In some situations, people are able to resolve their issues without the need for a substitution. However, in other situations, the relationship breaks down to a point where a new attorney is needed.

Answer Applies to: Michigan
Replied: 11/4/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Hire a new lawyer. Get rid of the old lawyer.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/27/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Yes, you can change attorneys, fire your attorney at any time. Depending on your location you would use various referral services or a recommendation form someone who has experiaince with an attorney that was successful.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/27/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Find a new lawyer and write the old one demanding an accounting of everything he did on your case and the time spent. If you don't get it in a week write again telling him/her the next time you write, a copy will be going to the California Bar.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/27/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Contact other criminal attorneys for a consultation. They will let you know if they will be able to substitute in. In most cases, another attorney will be able to step into the case. The client will usually need to appear in court with the old and new counsel and the court needs to allow the substitution. Whether you will be able to get a refund is another question. You will certainly be able to get the file. It is important that you have confidence in your attorney, so that you can work with him/her to prepare your best defense.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/27/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Generally, yes, you can replace an unresponsive and uncommunicative attorney. It is your right to have the Attorney of your choice and someone you have confidence will properly represent you. Only when your case is very close to the start of the Trial will you have a possible problem with the Judge. The Judge will not want to delay a Trial too far he may require that any new Attorney assure him that he can get up to speed quite quickly. Get a competent, experienced Attorney and get going.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/27/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Yes, you can get a new attorney. You just need to hire one. The harder part is you will end up paying the current attorney for the work he/she did to this point and have to pay for a new attorney.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/26/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Yes, you can. Just hire a new lawyer, who will go to court and sub into the case. The Judge will relieve your prior counsel.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/26/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

I'm sorry you're having these problems; it's the last thing you need during a stressful time. I take it from one of your last questions that you have a retained attorney right now. If so, then you are the boss and you can fire your attorney at any time (and ask for any unearned fee to be returned). It is not uncommon for this to happen in the middle of a case. The court will accommodate you as much as reasonably possible.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/26/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Call a new attorney to consult with regarding your problems. An attorney can deal with your non-responsive attorney.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/26/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Yes, you can change attorneys at anytime, but you'll have to pay the new attorney and you may not get any money back from the old one. The new attorney can handle the motion to change attorneys for you.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/26/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

You can and should get a new criminal defense attorney to represent you. As for the how, you will need to start meeting with some new criminal attorneys who have a lot of experience in the court in which your case is being heard. If you can get a referral from a trusted source, that is always a great place to start. Otherwise, you can do an internet search and set up some free case evaluations. Once you find your new attorney, they will take care of contacting your current attorney and substituting in on your case.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/26/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

If you are seeking/using the Public Defender, you need to request a Marsden hearing. If you hired the attorney, then you can simply hire another attorney and have them complete a "substitution of attorney" to have filed with the court at the next hearing. Just because you are in the middle of a case, doesn't mean its too late. The attorney you hire to replace your current one, will have a substitution form so you wont have to worry about that.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/26/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

You have the right to fire your attorney at any time. Assuming you currently have private counsel, you would simply need to find and retain a new attorney. Have that attorney contact the old attorney and serve him with a substitution of attorney form, or have the new attorney appear at your next court date and substitute into the case on the record while making a formal request for the file from the old attorney.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/26/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Generally you can retain a new attorney at any time as long as it does not cause prejudice to the prosecutor. The way you do that is call some defense lawyers and hire one that you feel best about.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/26/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

You can just hire a new attorney and have them file a substitution of counsel. You can then tell the court and the other attorney that you fired them and move on. If you think he still owes you money, you can file against him in small claims court.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/26/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

If you are not satisfied with the services of your criminal attorney you may release him from the case and substitute another attorney. The court will let you do this if it will not delay the proceedings. If you get any of your retainer fees back will depend on the contract you signed when you hired your attorney. If you are using a Public Defender you do not get to pick which Public Defender represents you at court. You may file a motion to have your Public Defender removed. However, this normally just results in the judge praising your attorney.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/26/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

The first question is how did you obtain the lawyer. If you hired him, that means he court did not appoint the attorney, and you have retained new counsel. That attorney will handle the situation. If the court appointed the attorney and you now have funds to hire an attorney, hire the attorney and he/she will handle the transfer of the file. If the attorney was appointed and you still do not have funds for counsel, arrange for a court date if you can. Some court clerks will only let the attorney schedule court dates. Then ask the court for a new attorney. This is not an easy thing to do.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/26/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.