Q: What are my options if my lawyer refuses to give me the 50/50 we agreed on
A: First of all make sure you understand what your lawyer is stating about your agreement. Most agreements have an additional clause that the client must pay expenses out of the client's share of the recovery. So if that is what is going on your share would be 1/2 minus the expenses. There also can be liens on a recover that have to be paid no matter what and that reduces the amount left. So if there is a dispute over how to figure out what the wording of the contract is in terms of what your 1/2 ultimately means, I would highly recommend that you and your lawyer use the Oregon State bar's fee mediation service. Follow this link to get more information: http://www.osbar.org/feedisputeresolution. Finally you could file a complaint with the Oregon State Bar but I would only do that as a last resort. It is really a nasty thing to do to your lawyer. I strongly recommend using the fee dispute resolution service first.
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