pat781•5d ago

Warning: spent $400 on a lawyer who didn't even read my file

I paid a lawyer $400 upfront to help with my SSDI appeal and they showed up to the hearing mixing up my case with someone else's. After that I went with a nonprofit rep for free and got approved in 5 months. Has anyone else had a paid lawyer just totally drop the ball?

3 comments

3 Comments

baker.holly5d ago

Think about it from the lawyer's side too. They take on tons of cases and just skim files before hearings because they're paid either way. That $400 upfront means they already got something even if they mess up, so there's no real pressure to do a good job.

logan5255d ago

And that's the thing, paid lawyers don't always try harder than free ones. They just take your money and still screw up.

foster.tessa5d ago

Oh man, tell me about it. I hired a paid lawyer once for a traffic thing and they showed up to court with the wrong case file, clearly hadn't read mine, and then tried to act like it was my fault for not reminding them. Idk, I guess the joke's on me for expecting better service just because I paid for it. At least with a free lawyer you know you're getting what you paid for, which is nothing, so expectations are low. I literally could've done a better job arguing my own case, and I'm terrible at public speaking.