Q: Is it okay to seek opinions from another attorney?
I retained counsel, but I feel like they haven't been in communication with me. I've rarely heard from them after pretrial got continued multiple times. My case has recently been set for a trial and my lawyer still has not reached out to me. Is that normal?
Also, if I were to ask other lawyers (free consultation) for legal advice would that be grounds for my current lawyer to drop my case? Also would everything that I say in a call to their office be protected under attorney/client privilege?
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A: This is unfortunately a common occurrence. Clients often do seek the opinions of other lawyers - with the idea that they may change counsel. Your communications with other potential lawyers would be subject to the attorney-client privilege. Your attorney may be contacted by the other lawyer whom you contact to give he/she the heads up that they have been contacted, and also to alert them of a potential issue. Your own attorney, if he/she finds out, can handle it any way that they like. They could withdraw from the representation. However, many attorneys would appreciate the heads up from the other lawyer who has been contacted, and it may cause the lawyer to realize that he has not been providing the proper attention to the case and the client.
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