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I paid an attorney to put me through hell

Q: I hired a lawyer here in N.C. and he was to help me from getting something on my record and he did not. I paid him a lot of money to put my life in hell.

I can't get a job anywhere. I went to him for help. He waited until I got in front of the judge and said that I plead guilty and I did not know what's was going on.

I didn't ever have a speeding ticket in my life or anything on my record. I am a very independant lady, now I can't get a job.

Please help me. I was never told anything about a felony or what could happen to my life, or I was not ever told about a plea or anything like that.

I have written to the state bar about this. It's like I don't have anything to live for. My two boys keep me going. I want to go back to school but i can't get a job.
--Brenda, North Carolina

Attorney Cliff Horwitz:

This is a very difficult situation. The matter occurred in NC and therefore is outside of the location of our practice. Your are suggesting that your attorney failed to properly warn you of the effects or ramifications of pleading guilty. In other words, your are alleging that he committed a legal malpractice.

In order to prevail you would need to show that if you didn't plead guilty that you would have been found innocent. This is a heavy burden and a difficult one to meet. In order to prosecute this case, you will need to find a personal injury attorney in NC who is willing to file legal malpractice cases. That alone is a difficult task. In addition, I believe you will have a difficult time finding such an attorney because most attorneys will perceive your damages not to be serious enough to warrant the expense involved in prosecuting a malpractice claim. Plus, you would have to prove that you were innocent.

I know you are in a difficult position. All you can do is search around for local lawyers to see if any of them would be interested in handling it. You can also complain to the American Bar Association, attorney registration and disciplinary commission or the NC Trial Lawyers Associations, but that will not do you any good personally.