In settlement phase Lawyers want me to take an offer but will not take it all the way to arbitration and I want them to What if they drop the case what are my options? PS need the money bad
the case is pre arbitration the lawyers say we need to take the offer when i say no they say yes you have tot take it when i say i want to go to arbitration they say that we might end up with less and they would be very suprised if it was more due to their lack of sympathay
they are offering six figures and i want to go forward if the amount is less than what i had agreed to lowball can i contest that too?
Too often, attorneys forget that they are agents for the client, and not the other way around.
The attorneys are permitted to withdraw, but only if doing so will not "prejudice" your case. In you instance, should the attorney withdraw, it could be difficult to find another lawyer. Your current lawyers will want to place a lien on any recovery you make (in other words, they would get a percentage of the eventual settlement), making another attorney reluctant to take your case. This could be prejudicial to you. They should have thought about this before taking your case. The reason they get such a high percentage fee is the risk that some cases will take a lot of time for no recovery (if they lose), or a minmal recovery even if they win.
Still, you say you need the money bad. Taking a case all the way to arbitration can take time. Further, in a wrongful death/negligence case, you are likely really talking about mediation. At a mediation, an attorney tries to get the parties to settle. They will try to bring your demand down, and the defense offer up.
But what if the case does not settle? Then you need to go on to trial. This will often result in, not only more time, but the need to retain expert witnesses. This is a very expensive proposition. Depending on the law firm, this is either "advanced" on your behalf, or you have to pay that money. In either case, you pay. At the end, the attorney would get his fee (percentage), THEN they take out their costs, and THEN they pay the subrogated insurer (medical bills and insurers paid first), and you get the rest. The attorney should negotiate these matters for you.
Still, this all take TIME. I do not know your state, or where you are in the proceedings, but negligence cases often take 18 months to 3 years from filing to resolution.
What is your time frame? When do you NEED the money. If you need the money in short order, then you will need to settle … and take a discount to do so. The highest offer (assuming your case is good) comes as you get closer to trial.
On the other hand, if your case is weak, then an insurance company will offer you "cost of defense" now. They would prefer to pay what they would otherwise pay THEIR lawyer for the CERTAINTY of no additional liability. Once you get to trial, however, most of the cost of defense will have been spent, and they merely evaluate the liability (chance they will lose) and the potential damages.
As a litigation manager for companies that do not settle without liability, I can tell you that many plaintiff lawyers are lazy. They far prefer to not work very hard, and settle for far less than a case is worth. They make money based on volume. If they can get a settlement with only 10 hours of work, it is good for them. If it takes 100 hours of work, they would need to recover 10 TIMES what they are offered early in the case to break even. If, for example, you are offered $20,000, they would need to get this up to $200,000 just to break even (from their perspective), on the eve of trial.
You need to really evaluate the case. Can you really prove that someone else was at fault? How good are your witnesses? What are your real damages? What can you prove for damages? These are all matters for serious discussion with your attorney. You are paying him to provide good, sound legal advice. You need to know what he has done to work up the case. If he has not done much, then it is too early to settle, as you cannot properly evaluate the case. He will have also shown the other side that he is not serious about working up the case for trial, and this results in a much lower settlement value.
Good luck.
