Eleven yrs ago,I was served with divorce papers (after 20 yrs marriage& 2children later) in this lovely no fault state of CT.
I hired an Atty who had a good reputation of being Thorough/Fair I retained him & agreed to the $21,000 all inclusive fee.( alot of money now, a real lot of $$ then!)
I only met with him 2 times b/4 the 2 hearings prior to final divorce hearing.He was NEVER avail away on vacations 5 in 9 months! MY CALLS WERE RARELY IF @ ALL RETURNED HE WAS ILL PREPARED ETC. I had to do my own legal research since he was unavailable and did not file proper motions(Iwould later find out)
TYPICAL IN CT A DIVORCE ATTY IS PAID IN FULL BY FINAL DECREE-& THAT HE WAS . PER MY REQUEST I INSISTED HE SEEK SOME OF THE LEGAL FEES FROM MY THEN HUSBAN WHO WAS MAKING TEN TIMES MORE THAN MY INCOME AND LEFT US FOR ANOTHER PERSON(DIDN'T MATTER- CT:NOFAULT STATE)JOINT ACCOUNTS,STOCKS< KIDS EDUCATION FUNDS ETC> WERE CLEANED OUT 2 DAYS PRIOR TO MY BEING SERVED,YET NEVER ADDRESSED! OUR @ MINOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES WERE INVOLVED(NO ACCOMODATIONS BY ATTY RECOMMENDED ) I WAS GRANTED $5K TOWARD ALREADY PD IN FULL LEGAL FEE NEVER GIVEN BACK TO ME. MY ATTY NEVER COMPLETED WHAT WAS AGREED UPON @ FINAL HEARING(QUADRO) YET THAT WAS INCLUDED WITH ALL & TO BE COMPLETED FOR THE $21K.
NOW REALLY DID NOT RETURN CALLS SO NOTHING COMPLETED, NOTHING ENFORCED, AS PER DECREE STIPULATIONS. FINALLY RETAINED ATTY #2 WHO BASHED THE"STAPLES TYPE FORM" WHICH FOR HAVING 2 MINOR CHILDREN WAS NON SPECIFIC ON ANY ISSUE OTHER THAN WEEKLY CHILD SUPPORT ALSO WAY UNDER SUPPORT EFORCEMENT CHART GUIDLINE! (HEY I WAS A REALTOR NOT AN ATTY IF I KNEW THE LAW WHY WOULD I RETAIN HIM?
REALTORS ARE ACCOUNABLE TO & LICENSED BY DEPT OF CONSUMER PROTECTION,AN ETHICS COMMITEE,& THE REAL ESTATE COMMISSION.
I THOUGH ATTY's WERE ALSO HELD TO & SHOULD BE A STANDARD , ACCOUNTABLE TO THE BAR ASSOC. ETC !)-YEAH RIGHT!!THINK AGAIN! WELL $6k IT PAID AS A RETAINER TO #2 FOR THAT VERY VALUABLE INFO YET NO PERFORMANCE , NOT 1 MOTION FILED ALL SMOKE NO FIRE. FAST FORWARD 4 ATTY'S &MANY REATINERS WITH ONLY ONE HEARING WITH WRONG MOTIONS FILED(modification of child support, completeing Quadro etc.) I & my children wound up10yrs later with 1/3 of the rippoff decreed tenyrs ago. All renegotiated without my knowledge.all along the way i questioned all of this w@ the Bar Assoc., Judiciary Committee, and any entity that is supposed to monitor Court/Atty activity- The Answer given "it's very unfortunate but sometimes a few people slip through the legal cracks and you & your children just happened to be one of the few." Now That is a heck of an answer ! My x purchased 2 wks after final hearing a 2.5 mil home with only a 244K mortgage from the obvious proceeds of OUR BANK ACCTS<STOCKS< CHILDREN"S EDUCATION FUND ETC. All WE BOTH WORKED HARD FOR & CONTRIBUTED EQUALLY TO!

With the onset of the divorce our family home was 1st phase of foreclosure- all brought to the attn of ATTY WM CASHMAN aka "MY DIVORCE ATTY"
NEVER ADDRESSED IN COURT>>>>WHO SUFFERS MOST IN THESE SITUATIONS & SO MANY FAR WORSE THAN MINE>>THE CHILDREN& WHAT A TERRIBLE MESSAGE IT SENDS THEM>>WHO NEEDS ATTORNEYS???
WHY ARE COUNTLESS OTHERS EXPERIENCING SIMILAR LACK OF PERFORMANCE PAYING SO MUCH $$$ PUTTING THERE LIVES AND FAITH IN THE COURT SYSTEM/ATTYS,WITH NO RECOURSE-THE GRIEVENCE COMMITEE IS A JOKE ITS COMPRISED OF THE GOLFING PALS OF WHOM YOU ARE GRIEVING !!! I GIVE UP!