What should I do if my attorney will not return my phone calls?
I recently heard from a condominium association board that was beside itself because the condominium association attorney would not return phone calls. A phone call can seem like such a little thing, but when they go unreturned, they can become a huge albatross around one’s neck. A series of unheeded phone calls can paint several pictures in the mind of clients: a picture of indifference – this guy is not returning our calls because he just does not care about our situation or need; a picture of incompetence – maybe he is not calling us back because he does not know how to handle the situation; or a picture of irresponsibility – our phone calls go unheeded because Mr. Lawyer spends too much time on the golf course, or he has too many clients, and not enough time to work on our case.
No matter the picture that is being painted due to unreturned phone calls, it is never a good one. It is simply considered a professional courtesy to return phone calls within a 24 hour period unless one is out of town. According to officials from the State Bar of California, the vast majority of complaints against attorneys are due to inattentiveness to clients and a lack of returned phone calls.
So what should you do when your attorney will not return calls? Well, the short answer is to fire him or her as the case may be. However, there are other ways of getting your attorneys attention. Simply acknowledging in a letter to your attorney, as well as the head lawyer of the firm, that you are aware that your messages are going unreturned can be enough to set your attorney back on the right track. However you choose to get your attorney’s attention, it must be done. The needs of community associations cannot go unheeded.