Our Lawyer sucks....how to learn to represent ourselves....cant afford a new attorney.

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So my DH hired his current lawyer a year ago this month. So far she has yet to send us a bill....went awal for 4 months over the summer on maternity leave without notifing us, and all she has accomplished are sending BM's lawyer the answers to the financial interogatorries (of course when he filed for a modification she filed for increase in CS) and getting a GAL appointed. She has once again gone awal not returning phone calls or emails or texts. Have gone by her office she has been in court, not return response.....it is so frustrating, and we do not have the money for another attorney. Has anyone represented themselves in a modification case when BM had a lawyer? Any resources you know of to help with forms, motions, rules of evidence?? Please all the advice we could get would be great!

Another idea? Do some

Another idea?

Do some checking and see if there is a law school near you. If so see if they have a law clinic... where about to graduate students help laymen (normal peeps) for pennies on the dollar IF they charge at all.

(PS: Dental colleges also sometimes run student dental clinics cheap too!)

Fire her and do a search for

Fire her and do a search for father's rights attorney in your area. Don't pay the bill when she sends it to you. It's important as a biodad NOT to go pro se in any circumstance as 99% of family court is biased against biodad. You can dispute the bill when it comes in; there are legal regulatory agencies that you can talk to as well

We gave her a 1000 dollar

We gave her a 1000 dollar retainer and she is supposed to send us a bill before she withdrawls money from this trust. We have never seen one bill.

You won't get a dime of that

You won't get a dime of that back, sorry to say. Lawyers like that will charge you $75 just to listen to your voicemail. I don't know about representing yourself if BM has a lawyer, the law school idea is a good one.

Fire her and do a search for

What makes it really scary is

What makes it really scary is he was diagnosed with Asthma when he was with us over labor day last year. She told us the doctor we took him to was a quak and he didnt have asthma. She lied to my DH about when the follow up was with her doctor so he wasnt able to go, and then later refused to send an inhaler with him. She keeps telling us it is our fault something at our house is makeing him sick That is ultmatley why we got a GAL involved because she refuses to believe and properly seek medical attention regarding Asthma. We have been requesting several times for her to take him to a specialist so we can become better educated and when to seek treatment etc....BM just refuses. Then in Nov he was with us and had took his inhaler in the morning when he woke up because he sounded like he was haveing trouble. Then 4 hours later had to take it again, 2 hours after that he was still wheezing, we then took him to the ER and he ended up in the hospital for 2 days. Come to find out if they have to take thier rescue inhaler more than once a day you should immediatley seek treatment was what the doctor in the hospital told us. When he was discharged they set him up with a pediatrician (BM doctor small town family doc). She told my DH she was not going to take him to that doctor she didnt care what the hospital said or what appointment they made. At this point when we could not get ahold of our Lawyer we called the GAL asking for help to make her keep the appointment. So she did she sent a letter to Both attorney and the appointment was kept. He had a maintence inhaler that was prescribed and filled. It has a dose counter on that and we take pictures everytime we pick him up and drop him off and while he has been in his moms care he missed 25 doses in a 35 day period, so he has basically been taking it only about 1 time a day when he should take it 2 times a day. He has an appointment on the 29th with a pediatric pulmonologist (BM still doesnt think he has asthma, she thinks its bronchitis), so my husband is going to ask the specialist in front of the BM what the consequences are for not taking that medication as ordered. And our lawyer we have not heard from sinc the hospitilization almost 2 months ago and not because of our lack of trying.

spittenfire, hope this helps.

spittenfire, hope this helps. Your BM is Medically Neglecting her child. Below is the MO state law regarding medical neglect. I recommend you and your DH do more research into this.

31: Medical Neglect
Definition of:
Medical Neglect: The denial or deprivation, by those responsible for the care, custody, and control of the child, of medical or surgical treatment or intervention which is necessary to remedy or ameliorate a medical condition which is life threatening or causes injury. Medical Neglect includes not only serious, but mild and moderate medical neglect as well.

http://www.dss.mo.gov/cd/info/cwmanual/section7/ch1_33/sec7ch31.htm

She wrote a letter the state bar and got every penny back.

Thank You we were wondering

Thank You we were wondering if we should do that.