Q: My lawyer pressured me to sign a stipulation without a notary present and without her legal counsel. What can I do?
The stipulation was misrepresented to me by my lawyer over the phone and I was pressured to sign it without full review because my lawyer claimed she would be closing her office soon after I arrived or that only her paralegal might be present. When I arrived the paralegal had the form ready but my lawyer was nowhere to be seen. I read it quickly and signed because I had been pressured to sign and reassured it was written for my benefit. No notary was present and my lawyer was actually sitting in a nearby room out of sight. She only acknowledged me as I was leaving and instructed the paralegal to take the papers to the notary later. I later read and found out notaries must be present for signing stipulations and think the stipulation might be invalid.
A: Inform your lawyer that you are not in agreement with the stipulation.
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