EveryBody's Guide to the Law

income to provide you an income, but an investment company defrauded you out of your
retirement savings. You hire a lawyer who files a lawsuit on your behalf, but in the meantime
you can’t even afford the bare necessities of life. Can your lawyer lend you money for things
such as food, clothing, shelter, and medical bills until your case is resolved? In most states, no;
a lawyer can advance money on behalf of the client only for the costs and expenses of litigation,
not for living expenses.
A client who can’t pay for the basic necessities of life may be under considerable pressure to
settle his or her case quickly—often for an amount that is clearly inadequate for the degree of
injuries suffered. The Supreme Court of Louisiana noted this when it observed, “If an impoverished
person is unable to secure subsistence from some source during disability, he may be
deprived of the only effective means by which he can wait out the necessary delays that result
from litigation to enforce his cause of action. He may, for reasons of economic necessity and
physical need, be forced to settle his claim for an inadequate amount.” A few states therefore
permit attorneys to lend their clients money for minimal living expenses in some cases, so the
clients won’t be forced into fast but unfair settlements.
PROBLEMS WITH YOUR LAWYER
A client’s unhappiness with his or her lawyer can cover a wide range of grievances, everything
from the lawyer’s failure to return telephone calls as quickly as the client would like to
the lawyer’s getting a fat settlement check for the client, then forging the client’s name to it
and telling the client the case was lost.
When a problem arises between you and your lawyer, you should first discuss it candidly
with him or her. If the lawyer isn’t returning your phone calls, write a letter explaining your
grievances with the lawyer and send it by certified mail, return receipt requested. (If it’s a serious
matter, such as your lawyer absconding with your settlement check, you should contact
the district attorney’s office immediately.) Perhaps it is nothing more than a mere misunderstanding
and an explanation from the lawyer will ease your fears. Or the lawyer may have put
your file aside during a busy period, and a word or two from you will prompt him or her to be
more diligent with your case in the future.
One thing you must realize is that your lawyer is, after all, in business. He or she has other
clients to talk to, other court hearings to attend, other briefs or wills to prepare, and so on. But
if you feel your lawyer has been remiss in preparing your case or advising you of progress, call
or write your lawyer and say that you are beginning to worry. If this doesn’t solve the problem,
then more drastic action (discussed below) is called for.
When the dispute involves the amount of money you owe the lawyer or how your fee agreement
should be interpreted and you can’t work things out with your lawyer, send your lawyer a
letter stating the nature of the dispute and requesting to have the dispute arbitrated. Many
598 Everybody’s Guide to the Law