Many times clients will come to us that already have hired a lawyer or law firm to represent them in a car accident, motorcycle accident or personal injury case, and for one reason or another they are not happy with their current firm. In this situation it’s actually very easy to switch out your contingency based lawyer with a new firm of your choosing. Within every contingency fee agreement there is what’s called a lien, so if you want to terminate your lawyer for any reason you can. They will be allowed to place a lien on your case but that lien amount is only based on the actual value they have added to your case. The Latin term is called Quantum Meruit and it means a reasonable sum of money to be paid for services rendered or work done. It’s really upto our new attorney and old attorney to negotiate and determine what a fair and reasonable amount the prior firm is entitled to based on the actual work on the case. But that should stop you from hiring new counsel you are happy with. Your prior attorney may also be entitled to any costs they have paid and the new attorney should promptly pay any hard costs the prior firm spent on your case. The good news is none of this is the clients responsibility. The new firm should immediately notify in writing the prior firm and let them know they are taking over the case. The old firm has a duty to send your new firm the entire file they have and the new firm is then your attorney of record. The new firm sends letters of representation to all the insurance companies involved and you as the client are now with the new firm. It’s a simple no hassle process so if you are not happy with your current firm and want a second opinion give law offices of J.Chrisp a call today!