Find someone else. I'm also an attorney (not family law though) going through a divorce. I have not had any problems getting emails or calls returned and I've worked with more than one attorney.

^That's a terrible idea and OP is an attorney so hopefully she knows it. Do you really want someone representing you that you've also fired a bar complaint against? Recipe for disaster.

If you're not happy with the representation fire him and ask for your retainer back. If he tries to keep an unreasonable portion of the retainer then threaten him with a bar complaint and I'm sure he'll cave.

Hi OP and PP. Sorry this is happening to you. The answer is probably that your lawyer is neglecting his professional responsibility.

DC R. Prof. Resp. 1.4(a)
A lawyer shall keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter and promptly comply with reasonable requests for information.

Here's how to file a complaint:

http://www.dcbar.org/attorney-discipline/for-the-public/file-an-attorney-complaint.cfm

If you want to find out whether your attorney has a disciplinary history, you can look him up here: http://www.dcbar.org/attorney-discipline/find-a-member.cfm

Where it says "Disciplinary history:" if there is a "yes" afterward it will be clickable and you can find out what he was previously disciplined for.

I did a brief stint in a family law practice and it might be a money thing. They make a lot their money off of the initial consults. Quick and easy upfront cash. After that they have your money in "escrow" so they can take their time getting back to you.

The firms themselves tend to be staffed leanly and there are only so many hours in a day so they tend to go after the cases where there is more money to be made. High net-worth individuals w/ cash to burn on negotiating "boiler plate" settlement agreements.

If they didn't like a client or want a case because they thought it would be a hassle they would suggest an absurd upfront retainer amount. Hoping the potential client wouldn't want to obtain.

The group I worked for were a cynical bunch and they didn't have much respect for the clients. It was a strange place.

Ha! I'm on the same boat. No response to my last couple of e-mails or my voice mail yesterday. At least I know it's not unique to my attorneys.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMHO, custody seems to move glacially slowly when you are the plaintiff. My guess is that it seems lightening fast if you are the defendant.

If finances are an issue, ask your atty what you can do rather than the paralegal. I kept my costs down in part by photocopying and scanning a lot of the evidence myself.

yes. It can. But we havent filed. I had to locate him and atty would not return my call so I oculd even tell him Ex was found.

Why didn't you simply email or fax that info to your atty?

I tried. No fucking response. Even when I W/d. I just think he didn't see enough money to be made.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMHO, custody seems to move glacially slowly when you are the plaintiff. My guess is that it seems lightening fast if you are the defendant.

If finances are an issue, ask your atty what you can do rather than the paralegal. I kept my costs down in part by photocopying and scanning a lot of the evidence myself.

yes. It can. But we havent filed. I had to locate him and atty would not return my call so I oculd even tell him Ex was found.

Why didn't you simply email or fax that info to your atty?

I had a horrible time getting a hold of anyone when we were working with Micah Salb. Hopefully you'll get in touch with your attorney soon.

Anonymous wrote:IMHO, custody seems to move glacially slowly when you are the plaintiff. My guess is that it seems lightening fast if you are the defendant.

If finances are an issue, ask your atty what you can do rather than the paralegal. I kept my costs down in part by photocopying and scanning a lot of the evidence myself.

yes. It can. But we havent filed. I had to locate him and atty would not return my call so I oculd even tell him Ex was found.

IMHO, custody seems to move glacially slowly when you are the plaintiff. My guess is that it seems lightening fast if you are the defendant.

If finances are an issue, ask your atty what you can do rather than the paralegal. I kept my costs down in part by photocopying and scanning a lot of the evidence myself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you picked up the phone and called to ask what progress is being made on your case?

If you bothered to actually read what OP posted, her last call to the attorney was a couple of days ago.

Sorry OP. I'd be super annoyed. Did you leave a VM with an assistant or on a machine? Honestly id just keep callin and emailing. Maybe the attorney will get so annoyed, they'll drop you as a client and you can find someone you can actually get a hold of!

I w/d. Now I'm terrified to deal with my sue happy EX. My last voice message was with the office assistant. The attorney was really taking a wait and see approach while I located EX. I found him and attorney wouldn't responded. This would not irk me so much if time toling wasnt of the essence and I wasnt referred by a "friend" .

Anonymous wrote:Have you picked up the phone and called to ask what progress is being made on your case?

If you bothered to actually read what OP posted, her last call to the attorney was a couple of days ago.

Sorry OP. I'd be super annoyed. Did you leave a VM with an assistant or on a machine? Honestly id just keep callin and emailing. Maybe the attorney will get so annoyed, they'll drop you as a client and you can find someone you can actually get a hold of!

Have you picked up the phone and called to ask what progress is being made on your case?

and sorry for my typos- typing mad.

My last email was over a week ago. The call was over 2 days ago. I have had one email since providing my retainer a month ago. Nothing involved filing for custody nor support the matter(s) for which they were retained. Is it because I am on limited budget and clearly not a cash cow? Or is it because I am an attorney? I dont practie family law- so i hired an attorney for a reason. What a waste of time when time matters.
Thanks for reading my qausi vent