I am a lawyer, but I am not an expert in the area you are asking about and I am not licensed to practice law in your state. Nothing I say here is to be considered legal advice and should not be relied upon. If you require advice, consult a competent lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.
There! Now … uh … what was the question?
Lawyer - Law
Sawyer - Saw
Foyer - Faw?
Well, if that’s all the case you’ve got, you’d better settle out of court.
I’ve got two questions involving the law. A quick background, I’m having some problems with my soon to be ex-wife’s lawer. Before anyone tells me to get a lawyer I did, and none of them were very helpful.
First can someone tell me exactly what a contract is? Besides being a written legal document. The reason I’m asking is because the lawyer has told me that a contract can not be changed, amended ratified etc once signed. Now I may not know much but I remember when I bought my house I changed a few parts of the contract after it was signed. Then to make matters worse he turns around a few months later and says that the contract needs to be amended. So exactly what is a contract and what can and can not be done to it? I’m in Maryland if that makes a difference.
Second, and more important, who do I write to and complain about said lawyers tactics? He has done a number of things that I do not like, some of which almost cost me a lot of money including putting the wrong address on any letters he sent me, sometimes he would put the wrong zip code so that I would not get things on time. I told him my correct address a number of times and he would sometimes get it right, but usually it was wrong. I’m sure that there are some things that I did not get because of this. He also would hold important papers, mainly for my car, that needed to be signed so I would not have to pay fines. He held one set for two months until I told him that if I was not forwarded my paper work that he would be responsable for any fees that I incured. That actually worked. So who can I write and complain to?
Damn, I thought it went though.
(Insert above disclaimer here)
You need a lawyer. A good one this time. You’re not likely to get through this without one. Call the Maryland State Bar Association (http://www.msba.org) for help in finding one. You can also tell them about what you think might be unethical actions on the part of the other lawyer.
A contract is not a “written legal document.” A contract is any legally enforceable agreement; it does not have to be on paper, except in certain cases.
The two necessary elements of a contract are formation and consideration. “Formation” means mutual assent, classically in the form of offer and acceptance. In other words, both parties agree on something – a “meeting of the minds.” “Consideration” means that each party is giving something of value to the other party. The terms of a contract can be altered, again by mutual assent, at any time after the contract is formed. When you say the guy says that a contract cannot be changed, maybe what he’s really saying is that he isn’t going to agree to a change.
You need a lawyer who is working for you to explain how these concept might apply to your case. Do not take these comments as legal advice.
There is almost certainly a state board or committee you can complain to. It is probably called the “disciplinary committee,” the “board of bar overseers,” or something like that. If you call the state bar association and tell them that you want to complain about a lawyer, they will probably send you to the right place.
According to this link – http://www.crclegmal.com/p0000106.htm - you should contact the “Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland” at (410) 514-7051.
Keep in mind that for your complaint to be effective, you need to be able to DOCUMENT the attorney’s improper behaviour. In other words, you need copies of the mis-addressed envelopes; a copy of your multiple letters to the attorney telling him or her your correct address; etc.
Also, DO NOT threaten the attorney that you will report him to the disciplinary committee in order to get leverage over him.
Oh, and get a lawyer, I’m not your lawyer, this is not legal advice, blah blah blah.
You cannot unilaterally change a contract after it is signed. Any changes require the agreement of both parties, and it would be best to draw up a new contract with the amended clauses. Otherwise one party of the other can deny they agreed to the changes and a court would have to decide who was lying.
You can make changes to a contract by hand, but any such changes requires the initials of both parties.
Actaully I don’t need a lawyer, my case is done. I was mearly looking for some needed answers for when I write my letter.
Thanks for the advice it was what I was looking for.