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In reply to the discussion: Elder parents committing fraud and threatening, anyone been through this? [View all]Cary
(11,746 posts)You have a choice. You do have the power to walk away.
You don't have to walk away but you need to know that you have that power. I tell my clients that I don't have their answer.but I can tell them what I would do if it were me and what I would do is walk away.
Here is what happens:
1) they give me a large retainer;
2) I go through that retainer like a hot knife through butter because a lawyer has to be aggressive on these cases;
3) client runs out of money making me either have to quit or effectively give them an interest freeoan;
4) I am a sucker so I don't withdraw, but that isn't good because I don't have resources to do things right when I am not being paid;
5) since the client isn't paying they don't accept settlements and get mad at me for telling them to accept.
I actually had one fire me after I insisted that she needed to take a.$200,000 settlement. I dont know how much she owed me. A few years later she settled for $15,000. I have no idea what she paid.her second attorney. I called her to express sympathy and she got abusive with me claiming I didn't tell her that the trustee had access to trust funds to fight her claim. Mind you she fired me for pushing her to settle and she stiffed me out of like $20,000.
So maybe that gives you some perspective.