lawyer trying to blackmail me

S

sundancekid

Registered Users (C)
Gurus, opinions please

Brief history;

I have already paid my lawyer $4000 of a $7000 bill. She has not been a very good lawyer and I have an explicit paper trail of her incompetence and lack of knowledge.

With no notice, my lawyer failed to appear at my interview in NYC in Feb 2004.

My lawyer is now demanding that she be paid the full amount. She claims that she sent me a letter that said if I don't want her to go the interview, then don't reply to the letter... Of course I received no such letter

I also caught her in a huge lie. She claimed that she knew I had my greencard because she had called the INS personally. However, I did not get my passport stamped etc at my interview and I am still waiting security clearance. I told her I knew she was lying and asked her to repeat her claim.

I told her I will file a complaint with the State Bar and she told me that she will accuse me of making a fraudulent GC application, and she would get my green card revoked

She also said that if I don't pay her within 10 days she will sue me, and and that she will get my green card revoked.

advice/comments welcome
 
If you are supposed to pay $7000, then you must pay it, irrespective of the competence of the lawyer because she handled your case right through the approval. I don't think that you have any clause that you will pay less if she is incompetent. She has a strong case. So better pay off the balance and get rid of the headache.
 
Did you sign any doument saying that you would pay her this much amount? Can you post the details of the agreement you had with your lawyer?

I don't think she can complain to anyone and get your GC revoked. Even if she does, if your case is a legit one, why should you fear? If your case is not legit, try to settle it with her.
 
dsatish-- thanks for your input

she did not handle my case thru approval-- my case has still not been approved!

didn't she "abandon" my case when she failed to appear-- as she was supposed to-- to represent me at my interview?

I retained her to do a job and she did not finish it???

thnks frantic-- my case is legit, but who wants to think that someone is trying to get your card revoked? I do not remember signing a "contract" with her but it is nearly 4 years ago
 
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Sundance Kid

1) You agreed to pay on approval (from your previous thread, it seems like your case has been approved and it is only waiting name check from FBI)

2) If you lawyer did not appear for the interview, why did you still go ahead and finish the interview. Also, it is not like her absence made any difference..has it?

3) If lawyer is going to tell INS you made a fradulent application, how is she planning to do this? Afterall, she went thru' your documents and filed on your behalf..

It just doesn't make any sense an immigration lawyer threatening to expose you and you in return trying to lodge a complain to the state bar association?

Can you please give the full details without really hiding anything so people can give good suggestions.

One thing is for sure, you have to pay the full amount. I am surprised abt $3000 is due on approval. Usually it is like $500-$1000 with most lawyers filing GC on applicants behalf.

Most lawyers charge abt $5000 for GC process? How come you agreed to pay $7000?

Something is really fishy here
 
I think this guy is doing the blackmail to lawyer. Why ?

- You agreed to pay $7k
- You can not justify, you saying "incompetent"
- Did she agreed to come to interview along with you ?
When you magte the agreement for $7k
- Aren't you trying to find some reason, not to pay.

C'mon dude, give a break. You owe the lawyer money.
Pay it.

My confusion is, why you need to pay $7k ? I heard
rajiv charges like $4.4 k and Sheela murthy is almost same.
 
If you find the lawyer (he/she) incompetant, why didn't you fired her and hire another lawyer. I think that lawyer too nice to you,
so that she was waiting this long fo rthe money.

My knowledge is, most of layers, charge money upfront ?
May be worried of . :)
 
thanks for your answer m101

Q. You agreed to pay on approval (from your previous thread, it seems like your case has been approved and it is only waiting name check from FBI)

A.I assumed my lawyer had abandoned my case when she did not appear. I have not heard from her since the interview-- which she absolutely was supposed to attend or in fact since december 2003.

if a man builds a house for you and does not put on the roof, should you stand there in the rain and pay him the full amount?


Q If you lawyer did not appear for the interview, why did you still go ahead and finish the interview. Also, it is not like her absence made any difference..has it?

A. I was waiting for her to appear. My name was called. If I had not gone in to the interview, how long do you think it would have taken to be rescheduled-- 1yr? 6 months? look at the people waiting for nyc interview dates in this forum. they are like gold dust. If my lawyer had been there, perhaps she could have asked for a supervisor, to find out about the namecheck. the INS can , in fact, expedite a security check, if they so wish. I wanted my lawyer there-- she was supposed to be there and she did not come.

QIf lawyer is going to tell INS you made a fradulent application, how is she planning to do this? Afterall, she went thru' your documents and filed on your behalf..

A.My job is in NJ I live in NY. When my case was transferred to NYC from Vermont, NYC told me it would be approx 2 years before an interview. this is also confirmed by this forum. I asked my lawyer if I changed my address to NJ if it would speed my interview, because from this forum I could see that NJ intvws were within 2 months of transfer. She is claiming that I committed fraud by asking her this, because she says that I had no intention of moving to NJ. IN the meantime, my intvw notice came very very quickly (aug td nov intvw letterd) therefore was no point in moving

Q. It just doesn't make any sense an immigration lawyer threatening to expose you and you in return trying to lodge a complain to the state bar association?

A. the other way round. I told her that her failure to appear at my interview was improper professional conduct-- as well as failure to return calls, fax, lack of accurate information, knowledge of the current law (i told her about 245i!!) She replied that IF i filed a complaint she would try to prove fraud with the address change

Q.Can you please give the full details without really hiding anything so people can give good suggestions.

One thing is for sure, you have to pay the full amount. I am surprised abt $3000 is due on approval. Usually it is like $500-$1000 with most lawyers filing GC on applicants behalf.

Most lawyers charge abt $5000 for GC process? How come you agreed to pay $7000?

Something is really fishy here

A. there is nothing fishy here except my lawyers blatant lies.

5000 fees for lawyer, 1000 for 245i {because of lawyers documented incompetence my RIR labor took 10 months instead of 6 weeks and therefore I went out of status for more than 6months after expiration of H1] $838 in "expenses" and other filing fees total $6838

SHe has never sent me a balance/invoice for the $2838. I was not in "arrears" prior to her failure to appear.

My schedule of fee payments shows $1000 payment upon interview.

If she doesnt go to the interview why should she be paid?

ps123 -- I spoke to another lawyer about taking over my case. However, at that time he siad it might trigger a transfer to local office NYC if I changed lawyers wothout chaniging job, company, location etc. At that time he thought I would be approved directly from Vermont without any further involvement of my lawyer and recommended me to stay with my lawyer. I got transfrred anyway.

I took his advice

also for more background-- my lawyer had dome bothe my previous H1's from 1995/98. However sometime around 2000/2001 her behavior started to become more and more erratic-- until she just doesnt show up for my interview!

thanks for all your opinions
 
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1. Per your prior reply, It looks like you never signed any agreement. Then on what basis she can charge you?
2. She didn't accompany you for the interview and also she didn't inform you that she cannot join you for interview. So she shouldn't charge you for the service not rendered to you.
3. I don't think she can revoke your GC. If she try that, she will go to jail and also bar licence will be revoked for filing a fraudulent GC application as she claims (eventhough there is no fraud invloved).

Just to have peace of mind, don't drag this issue too long just close this GC chapter ASAP and move on with your life.
 
Looks like you need to play safe. Just tell your lawyer wait till the passports are stamped and then you will pay 3000$ and get rid of the headache. I think lawyers can easily manipulate things in your favor or against your favor. So if you need to fight you need another lawyer who is more competent than her. So why the pain.
 
Lawyer threating the client with fraud etc can be a matter easily taken with the bar, irrespective of financial disagreements.
HTH
 
Immigration Lawyers

Dude,

You do have legitimate points here. With permission from immigrationportal.org (Rajiv?),we should start a thread about all these immigration lawyers by namimg them, so other people can avoid them. The Immigration problems are at least 50% due to the majority of immigration lawyers.

1: DO not pay her easily.
2: Nothing she could/can do about Security Checks, and/or revoke your GC.
3: Can file complains anytime, after you change lawyer.

Something about you: You do not change addresses just to facilitate your GC. It is the other way around, or even if you do, you keep the details to youreself!
 
Don't be scared of ur lawyer

Ask her to file a complaint if she so wishes. Remember, she is the legal eagle here and you were merely acting on her advise. So if she is going to file a complaint saying your GC was obtained fraudulently, tell her you would plead ignorance and blame it all on her.
You may also want to say to her that if she carries this attitude, you will file not only a misrepresentation case against her but also extortion.
 
Dude ...

You said $5000 as her fees .....
1. Then did she give you a schedule when to pay how much ... ?

if she did ... then I don't believe you that you haven't had a document signed with her outlining the payment times and amounts ... it's absurd ... any lawyer won't say orally that you pay $5000 for the fees and collect money over the phone .... it's impossible .... mine was a useless one .... but she did made me sign a doc and pay everything before my I485 is filed ......

Better .... try to remember what you've signed ..... may be 4/5 yrs ago .... ask her why you need to pay her the said amount and ask her for any document she has in her possession which demands that payment ......

Or else .... you are 100% sure there exists no such doc then why worry .... she can't do anything .... your app is legit ......


my 2 cents ...
- Jha
 
Hi Sundance

1) Is there any Contract between you and lawyer? (As far as I know lawyers do not proceed without making sure how the client intends to pay)

2) You lawyer did claim she sent a notice to you regarding her appearance for the interview - Which you did not receive, so you say? What if she did send the letter that she claimed to have and that you did not receive it for some reason?

There is no way of finding out unless you intend to make this an issue by dragging her to a court.

3)I think you may have jumped the gun, got a little impatient and threatened the lawyer unnecessarily...accusing her of incompetency etc...BIG MISTAKE

4) What makes you think the lawyer is incompetent? Most lawyers do not want to waste time by explaining each and every clause of the law...they ask for the relevant documents and file according to the law.. Looks like you read a few messages here and there on this forum and decided to ask your lawyer about these things...Lawyer has only agreed to file your application and do things relvant to the application, did not agree to educate you about the immigration law.......

(for my first H1-B, my lawyer called me twice...the first time to tell me the papers were filed...the second time to tell me my application got approved...I was just ok as long as things were done as expected. Never complained that my lawyer did not explain immigration laws or that he did not call me regularily. Contrary to the popular belief, it is not necessary. It is not a criminal case.)

How would you feel if somebody working in a field totally unrelated to your field you are working, starts challenging your ability in your own field?

Buddy, you better be prepared to pay the whole amount. Maybe you should work on mending your relationship with the lawyer. Quit getting into this thing like 'Why should I pay when she did render services, she is not competent'? To a third person, this comes across as if you are trying to avoid paying her because your purpose is served (almost), which is getting your GC.
Ignore all messages from people who encourage you to avoid paying. B'cos it is not helping your case.

Because if your lawyer indeed reports to CIS about your discussion about address change...and who knows about all your previous discussions with the lawyer...what all did you try to get an approval faster....am not sure if a lawyer can do these things..but what if the lawyer does that...you are left to explain yourself, your intentions of working for the sponsoring company...etc..
 
First you guys doubted this person's integrity, then you wanted him to succumb to the lawyer's pressures and pay the money.

The lawyers I usually dealt with (there are exceptions) are money suckers, arrogant and they think that they are doing us a big favor even while charging fee from us.

Sundance_kid, I admire your braveness. Lawyers like this should be given a good lesson. First try to see if you have signed any douments. Also the lawyers sometimes are pretty clear about attending an interview. So if you are clear of everything, complain about this lawyer to the bar.
 
thanks for all the answers, Gurus

today I spoke to the NY state bar "fee dispute" people. they are sending me forms. there is some good news for some people

summarizing-- if you retained your lawyer after jan 2002-- the lawyer has to participate in the fee dispute arbitration-- it is mandatory-- they cannot sue you if you dispute their fees.

for case before jan 2002-- lawyer participation is optional.

unfortuantely my case is from 2000.

m101 know your rights as a client-- read the state bar code of conduct for lawyers. these are not my rules about conduct-- returning calls informing the client-- they are the state bars rules.

the plain fact is my lawyer has shown me she will lie-- by claiming that she called the INS and that they told her i was approved which is 100% not true-- they woulkd have told her my case was pending. (I pressed her and she refused to repeat her claim...

by the nature of her alleged letter to me about appearing for an interview-- would anyone here send a letter that important without certifying the delivery? of course not!

my lawyer emails me usually-- but she did not email me this letter-- she mailed it instead???-- with no way of proving delivery?

and who would send a letter about a critical interview that said "if you don't want me to go don't contact me??? has anyone ever heard of anyhting like this-- of course not!

inventing a letter like this is the only way she can claim that she gave me anotice that she was not going to appear and that I knew.

I repeat-- she gave no notice-- she just did not appear for th interview

I will ask her for a copy of this letter. I guarantee that she will not give it to me because this letter does not exist and she will have to forge it-- which even she will not want to do

yesterday, I contacted [emailed] her partner in the law firm-- who is also her husband... I have suggested he and I discuss some kind of settlement.

he has not repsonded

if they ask for money again I will ask for arbitration by the state bar.

this lawyer knows that she screwed up. she knows she did not give me notice. she knows she did not attend the interview-- whether by mistake or design YET she threatens me because I question her competency? and dispute the validity of her fees?

i can honestly say that if i screw up I accept responsibilty for my actions. I do not lie and blame others. its called being an adult


thanks for all your answers
 
OK but you should not act so emotionally. What is it that you want?
1) Your green card
2) Your money
3) Teaching the lawyer a lesson

Which one is more important?

Also, once you confront somebody you have a disagreement with, or threaten them, it is much less likely that they will back down.. Just like you got excited when she lied to you.

I don't think it matters whether or not she informed you of not showing up for the interview. What matters is whether or not you agreed to pay for it.

If I were you, this is what I would have done:

1) Ask her very briefly to send you an itemized bill IN WRITING:
"Hi, could you please send me an itemized bill of all of the services performed, thank you"

2) When the bill comes back, there should be a $1000 charge for interview representation. Now it is very easy to pull out your old agreement where it says $1000 for interview, and say "since you did not perform this service, can you please take it off the bill". If suddenly the itemization is different, you can still refer to your old agreement.

3) Then you can send her the money that you owe her, deducting the fees which she did not perform services for. Believe me, if she receives some money, but the only money missing is the interview fee, she will not pursue any further.

Even if you want to complain to the bar or other place, it is usually a good idea to show some good faith intent in first resolving the issue directly.

Remember, incompetency is very difficult to measure and prove, especially if it's hearsay (she said that she called USCIS but she is lying). If you want to teach her a lesson, you cannot do so with the fees - for incompetency, you have to first pay all the fees (so that she does not have a case against you), and then SUE her.
 
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