This is more common than anyone admits
You hired a lawyer. Something is happening in your case, or you think it might be, and you cannot get an answer. You called. You emailed. It has been a week, a month, maybe longer.
You are not being unreasonable, and you are not imagining the problem. It happens often enough that we get calls about it, and it is worth saying plainly: you are entitled to know what is happening in your own case.
First, an honest word about why it happens
Not every silence is neglect, and it is worth knowing the difference before you act.
A lawyer in trial is genuinely unreachable for days at a stretch. A lawyer in a full day of mediation is not checking messages. Sometimes there is simply nothing to report — a case can sit for weeks waiting on a court date or the other side, and some lawyers do not think to say so.
That last one is a real failure, even though nothing went wrong in the case. “Nothing has happened yet” is information. Not hearing it leaves you assuming the worst.
What is not normal is a pattern: repeated attempts over weeks, no response from anyone at the firm, and deadlines you cannot get confirmation about.
What to do, in order
1. Put the request in writing, and be specific
Move from voicemail to email, and ask answerable questions. Not “please call me” but: What is the current status? What is the next date on the calendar? What are you waiting on, and from whom? What do you need from me?
Specific questions are much harder to leave unanswered than a general request for a call. They also create a record of what you asked and when.
2. Ask for the paralegal or assistant
Much of what you want to know is not lawyer-level information. Court dates, what was filed, what is outstanding — a paralegal often has all of it and more availability. If a firm has more than one person who knows your case, this is where you find out.
3. Check the court’s own record
Texas court records are largely public. You can often see what has been filed in your case, and when, without going through anyone. That tells you whether the case is moving even if nobody is telling you.
4. Ask directly whether the representation is working
If it has come to this, say so plainly in writing: you have made several attempts to get a status update, you have not received one, and you need to know whether the firm still has capacity for your case. That sentence tends to produce a response. Sometimes it produces a good one — a genuine apology and a fixed problem — and that is a fine outcome.
5. If nothing changes, you are allowed to leave
You can change lawyers. You do not need permission, and you do not need a reason beyond your own judgment. Your file is yours. A new lawyer handles the substitution, and it is routine — the transition is administrative, not dramatic.
Two practical points. Timing matters: a substitution close to a trial setting is more disruptive than one made early, so if you are considering it, consider it sooner. And you may still owe fees for work already done, which is a separate question from whether the relationship should continue.
What to ask before you hire the next one
If responsiveness is what went wrong, screen for it directly rather than hoping:
- Who besides the lawyer will know my case?
- What happens when the lawyer is in trial for three days?
- Who returns calls, and in what timeframe?
- Will I be told when nothing is happening, or only when something is?
That last question is the one that separates firms. Silence is usually a communication failure, not a legal one.
How our office handles it, since it is fair to ask
More than one person knows every case here. David, Leslie and Heather all work the same files, at different rates, which means the office is not empty when one of us is in court or in mediation all day. That is the practical reason a client can get an answer on a Tuesday afternoon when the lawyer is in a hearing.
It also means routine questions do not have to wait for the most expensive person in the building to be free — which is better for your bill as well as your blood pressure.
A closing thought
If you are reading this while waiting on a call back, try the written status request first. Many of these situations are fixable, and the lawyer who already knows your case has real value that is worth preserving where it can be.
If it is not fixable, you are not stuck. Consultations here are free, and if the right advice is to stay where you are, we will tell you that. Call (972) 772-8005.
