Attorney taking too long, should I find a new one?

[Kmr83]

Since you still think you need more explanation without answering the question specifically asked, I suggest you are on the marination table. Find another attorney and behave better.

What question are you asking? I am genuinely confused. We have called them once after 3 weeks to ask what the status was on our case. They said they still had not located the bio father. The conversation was brief and polite, 5 minutes at most.

4 days later, my dh looks bio father up online and is able to find his address and etc. He then emails the lawyer the information, assuming it will be helpful to our case. He is nothing but courteous in the email.

We follow up the email with a phone call that morning, as we wanted to know if the information was helpful. We were unable to get through. I admit the last phone call was overly eager, but it's hard not to be after a month of no contact.

I forgot to mention this in my op, but upon hiring our attorney, we asked for help getting an answer to a personal legal matter that was relevant to our case. We have still not gotten an answer for that.

 

[quincy]

... He then emails the lawyer the information, assuming it will be helpful to our case. He is nothing but courteous in the email.

We follow up the email with a phone call that morning, as we wanted to know if the information was helpful. We were unable to get through. I admit the last phone call was overly eager, but it's hard not to be after a month of no contact ...

If you want to know the status of your case, call the attorney's office (do not email) and schedule an appointment to meet with her.

Money will be deducted from your retainer during the in-person meeting you have with the attorney - just as money is deducted for every email that is sent by you and read by her, and every phone call you make that must be returned - so write out exactly what you want to know and stick with questions that you feel are vital. Watch the clock because the minutes that pass are coming out of your retainer and going in your attorney's pocket.

Clients are always anxious to know what is going on with their case and often absolutely nothing is going on with their case. Waiting is a big part of any case (waiting for information to be retrieved, answers to letters received, data that has been compiled reviewed or facts confirmed ...).

I agree with everyone else that 3 weeks is very little time in what is likely to be a lengthy process. But, if you feel you are not being given the attention you deserve, first speak with the attorney and then consider a change.

 

[stealth2]

Something to remember, too. You case is your only one and is your priority. However, it is just one of many to the lawyer and is probably not his/her top priority. It is quite likely that at least some number of their cases involve current abuse or neglect - which I think most people would likely place as a higher priority. So it really is best if the client (i.e. you) learns to "manage" their case. Educate oneself as to the law and how things proceed, what information is needed, providing as much (relevant) info as possible. At the end of the day - why would you want to spend your money on the lawyer/staff finding the info on your ex when you could do it so easily? Or having the lawyer educate you on issues you could easily educate yourself on? An informed and proactive client is a lawyer's dream, and one the lawyer will likely prioritize a bit higher.

Run of the mill situations (of which a step-parent adoption generally is) tend towards "hurry up and wait" situations. It's incumbent upon you to help your lawyer help you if you want to minimize the "wait" part of it.

 

[STEPHAN]

Finding something on Google does not mean that it is correct. If I Google myself, I find a lot of old information, long outdated. Also, I find a strange mix of correct and incorrect information bundled together.

How did you verify the information found and how do you know that he can be served there?

 

[Kmr83]

If you want to know the status of your case, call the attorney's office (do not email) and schedule an appointment to meet with her.

Money will be deducted from your retainer during the in-person meeting you have with the attorney - just as money is deducted for every email that is sent by you and read by her, and every phone call you make that must be returned - so write out exactly what you want to know and stick with questions that you feel are vital. Watch the clock because the minutes that pass are coming out of your retainer and going in your attorney's pocket.

Clients are always anxious to know what is going on with their case and often absolutely nothing is going on with their case. Waiting is a big part of any case (waiting for information to be retrieved, answers to letters received, data that has been compiled reviewed or facts confirmed ...).

I agree with everyone else that 3 weeks is very little time in what is likely to be a lengthy process. But, if you feel you are not being given the attention you deserve, first speak with the attorney and then consider a change.

I understand that. If you go back and read my posts, we sent the email because it contained case information.

 

[Kmr83]

Finding something on Google does not mean that it is correct. If I Google myself, I find a lot of old information, long outdated. Also, I find a strange mix of correct and incorrect information bundled together.

How did you verify the information found and how do you know that he can be served there?

We aren't sure if it's correct, although his work and home address are very close to one another. The city is also the same on his social media page. That's one other reason I mentioned as to why we were wanting to talk with them after sending the email with the addresses we found, to find out if the information was helpful or relevant.
I will again state that 2nd phone call was over eager.

 

[justalayman]

First, to find the other party the attorney may engage a private investigator. That adds another level of involvement where the PI may have not returned anything found yet. (It takes some time to initiate the hiring and then the PI will search and at some point return the information discovered). It could be done in house as well but even then the process of assigning it to researching it to returning it to the attorney on the case and then finally to a point where they do a case review to see if there are any changes needing to be addressed takes time.

Then, once the party is found they must be sent legally approved notice of the pending action. After that, everybody waits.

While your anxiety is driving you to pay attention to your case every moment and sit upon bated breath waiting for some word on the case, the attorney is dealing with multiple clients, some of whom may require immediate responses, and knows that your issue is there but with nothing to report, it makes little sense to spend the time jumping every time you inquire.

I suggest relaxing a bit. You also must understand the time issue is of your own doing and it matters not to the court. The timeline provided was a guide. It is not cut in stone. Adoptions can take years of there are problems. The attorney provided the time he believed it will take barring any problems.

In reality once the other party is given notice, IF he acknowledges and agrees to the adoption, the rest is simply waiting for the court to make any investigation they require and then waiting for a hearing. The notice and response by the other parent is likely to be the most time consuming part of an uncontested adoption.

 

[TigerD]

I'll just add that there is not likely going to be any significant outlay of expense by the attorney until your check clears.

TD