What to do if a lawyer doesn’t show up for court as he was hired to do and you get arrested for failure to appear

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What to do if a lawyer doesn’t show up for court as he was hired to do and you get arrested for failure to appear

My son hired an attorney for shoplifting charge.
Charging him 2000 he did not show up for
court. My son was arrested. Had to bail out for
another 500. And pay to get car out of
impound. Can we get our money back if we
fire him. Plus all other costs

Asked on November 12, 2016 under Criminal Law, Texas

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 7 years ago | Contributor

The problem is, even when you have an attorney, for a criminal (even minor criminal charge), you have to show up, too: the lawyer helps you but can't appear for you--the criminal defendant needs to be there, too, and if the lawyer had appeared, but your son did not, he potentially still could have been arrested, etc. That said, if the lawyer did not explain that to your son, it's possible there would be a malpractice claim, but it could be more expensive to pursue than it's worth.


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