It can be difficult for a client to know whether his or her lawyer is performing well or not. Sometimes even the best of lawyers does not achieve the desired result, and it may be due to a difficult set of facts, a bad judge and/or custody evaluator or guardian ad litem, or unrealistic expectations. There are some clear indications of bad lawyering, however, which are objectively obvious:

If any of the above is true, one should seriously consider obtaining new counsel.

Some considerations before firing your attorney, however, are:

When and if you do terminate your lawyer, you have the right to your file back in a timely manner. You cannot be billed for the copying of your file upon return unless the Fee Agreement so provides.

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS NOT ADVICE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CASE. FOR GUIDANCE ON YOUR SITUATION, CONSULT WITH ERIC C. NELSON, ATTORNEY. ALSO, THIS INFORMATION APPLIES ONLY TO MINNESOTA LAW, AND NOT TO THE LAW OF ANY OTHER STATE OR COUNTRY.