Can the old attorney keep the legal file from the new attorney if all legal fees have not been paid?
Full Question:
My nephew has some drug charges. We hired a lawyer for $20,000.00. We were not happy, so we fired him and hired somone else. We need my nephew's file but the lawyer will not give it to us until we pay an additional $1,350.00. Is this legal?
03/26/2007 |
Category: Courts ยป Attorneys |
State: Nevada |
#1022
Answer:
A lawyer discharged by a client in a pending matter, with no fees owing, must comply with the client's request to provide the client's new lawyer with a copy of the file. The client is entitled to all papers and property the client provided, all litigation materials, all correspondence, all items the lawyer has obtained from others, and all notes or internal memorandums that may constitute work product. The client is not, however, entitled to any memorandums from other cases that the lawyer may have included in the client’s file. Nor is the client entitled to the lawyer's notes bearing on the lawyer-client relationship rather than on the merits of the client's position.
