Related Posts
Coach
More Posts
Chief
Happy Friday, y’all!!
How was you memorial day weekend?
New wage code...what is in it for us?
Hi All. We are a small general practice firm (Corp, RE, litigation, land use and zoning, tax, media and entertainment, etc.) with 3 offices in NY and people licensed in NY, CT, NJ, MA and PA. All former Big Firm people. Let us know if we can help anyone here in the NorthEast! Www.bnrllp.com
Conversation Starter
Rising Star
I’m a simple guy. I see Mc🐝. I upvote.
Additional Posts in Law
Chief
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Wow.
Uhhh... What kind of hearing was it? Is your client getting evicted/deported/not getting their DVPO granted?
Pro-tip: try to remove the "pro bono" part of what you said and read it to yourself. "I missed the client's hearing. How pissed do you think the partner will be?"
I'd talk to the partner and your firm's general counsel ASAP - could have a malpractice claim on your hands, depending on the nature of this hearing.
OP: if the client has gone AWOL then you can petition the court to be withdrawn from the case due to a breakdown in the attorney client relationship. Until then, you and your firm are on the hook.
It sounds like you need an ethics reprimand. Reprimands are issued to get an attorney’s attention, help the attorney come to terms with the seriousness of every responsibility laid at our feet on every case we take (no matter how big or small), and allow you to appreciate the negative consequences of the reprimand enough that you choose to put systems in place to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Custody matters are heavily litigated. The last thing you want to see is a judicial order coming out of the hearing that is disfavorable to your client and for the appellate court to say “appellant’s argument is waived because it wasn’t raised at the hearing” or “appellant’s argument is waived because no objection was made at the hearing.”
What is the damages remedy for an attorney’s negligence that results in a client losing custody (or failing to regain custody) of a child? It’s not a contract worth $100. It’s lives you are dealing with that you have completely disregarded.
I am a previous litigator and I have spent a lot of time in court. An attorney missing a hearing can be a big deal from the judge’s perspective. I have seen judges call attorneys’ offices from the bench to ask why the attorney isn’t there. I have seen judges say “get in your car and get here. We will wait for you in order to start.” They do not appreciate attorneys failing their clients by not even showing up for the hearing.
The court can easily order a show cause hearing for an attorney to explain why the attorney should not be held in contempt of court for failing to attend a hearing.
I have seen judges’ nostrils flair when they get a whiff of an attitude that the client’s matter is “not that important” and here is what the judges typically say: “the hearing is today. It was an order that I expected you and your client to abide by. I don’t know where your client is (if the client also doesn’t show up as you have indicated may have occurred) but you are an officer of this court and your disregard for the court’s rules is a disregard for me, the judge in this matter. If you can’t abide by an order to appear for court then I have no confidence that you will be able to abide by anything else I order in this matter. What is your response to this?”
Take your job seriously.
Pro
Big or small, it’s always serious to miss a hearing or even a scheduling conference.
Child custody is not small. Own up and make it right, show the partner and the client you take it serious. People miss hearings. It happens all the time. But whatever you do, don’t qualify your apology (I.e. I was busy with X) or offer anything less than a full effort to make it right.
Beg the judge not to prejudice your client for your excusable neglect. Idk if you got default entered, but if your absence resulted in an adverse ruling on even a small issue, you need to file whatever the child custody version of a motion for reconsideration is and argue excusable neglect. More often than not judges do not want to hurt people for their lawyers’ mistakes.
Yeah you screwed up, but this is a chance to show the partner and the client how you react when you mess up. Damage control is a skill. It keeps clients and relationships, because screw ups and adverse outcomes are inevitable. Be humbled, apologize, fix what you can, and then move on and don’t dwell on it.
PS malpractice liability exists whether the client pays you or not. We cannot change the quality of our services depending on the pockets of the client. Unfortunately pro Bono clients often do not get as much attention as deep pocket clients, but the black letter law of malpractice doesn’t care whether they pay or not.
OP: what type of hearing was it? It might be small potatoes to you, but it probably was important to your client and could have significant adverse consequences for them (and then you in turn).
If I was your partner and I was reading this I would be livid - not because you made a mistake in missing the hearing, but because you are more concerned about how this may negatively impact the way the partner sees YOU rather than being concerned for the client, the implications for you and the firm from a liability and ethics standpoint, etc.
If you cannot be torn from your work helping people in Ukraine then it’s time to delegate everything else out so someone else can handle those things and keep track of them.
Just here to say that OP’s attitude is gross. I hope OP’s client does not suffer.
Thanks. :)
This entire post is appalling. I hope the partner is on this bowl and reads this entire post and then sits down to explain to you why so many attorneys are beside themselves with your attitude.
Rising Star
How did Russia and Ukraine leave a family lawyer with no time to do the actual job?
Or any kind of lawyer?
Imagine caring so much more about shielding Russian money during a war than helping a child and parent stay together 🙃
I am actually not shielding Russian money lmao
🤦🏻♀️
First off, I’m not a litigator. I don’t have support staff for this. Second, the partner went to the hearing and did not expect me to show up. Nothing bad happened to the client. End of story. You all can calm down.
Rising Star
Amen