Can I Switch Personal Injury Lawyers in the Middle of My Case?

A lot of my calls start the same way: “I already have a lawyer, but...” Then comes the story. They haven’t heard from anyone in two months. They’ve never actually spoken to the attorney whose face is on the billboard. Their case manager changed three times. Or the insurance company made an offer and their lawyer is pushing them to take it without explaining why.

If that sounds familiar, here’s the short answer: yes, you can switch lawyers in the middle of your case, and in most situations it won’t cost you more than staying put.

Can You Fire Your Personal Injury Lawyer in Colorado?

Yes. In Colorado, a client can discharge their lawyer at any time, for any reason or no reason. Your fee agreement can’t take that right away from you, and a lawyer can’t charge you a penalty for using it.

You don’t need your old lawyer’s permission or a “release.” You tell them in writing that you’re ending the representation, and your new lawyer takes it from there.

What Happens to the Fee If You Switch?

This is what keeps most people stuck with a lawyer they’re unhappy with. They assume they’ll owe two full fees. Usually, they won’t.

Here’s how it works in Colorado. Contingent fee agreements here are required to say what happens if the representation ends early, and most firms use language based on the Colorado Supreme Court’s standard form. Under that language, if you fire your lawyer without wrongful conduct on their part, the old lawyer can ask for a fee based on the reasonable value of the work they actually did. That’s called quantum meruit.

Three things about that claim matter to you:

• It comes out of the recovery, not your pocket. Under the standard form, the old lawyer’s fee is payable only out of the money recovered in your case. If there’s no recovery, they get nothing.
• It’s capped. It can’t be more than the fee they would have earned if they’d finished the case.
• It’s based on the work done, not the percentage. A lawyer who sent a few letters and requested your records hasn’t earned a third of your case.

The old lawyer protects that claim with an attorney’s lien, which Colorado allows under C.R.S. § 13-93-114. The lien gets resolved when the case settles, before the money is distributed.

Do You Pay Two Lawyers?

You shouldn’t, but it depends on how the new fee agreement handles the old lawyer’s claim. There are a few ways it can go:

• Stacked fees. The old lawyer’s claim comes off the top, and the new lawyer still takes a full percentage of the entire recovery. This is the “paying twice” people worry about, and it can happen when nobody deals with the old lien up front.
• A split recovery. The old lawyer takes a percentage of the offer that was on the table, and the new lawyer takes a percentage of everything above it. The total fee ends up somewhere between one fee and two.
• One fee. The old lawyer’s share comes out of the new lawyer’s fee. Your total fee is exactly what your new agreement says.

On cases I take over, it’s always the last one. The prior lawyer’s share comes out of my fee, not yours. You sign one fee agreement with me, and that’s the fee you pay. I work out the old lawyer’s claim with them directly.

Colorado’s ethics rules require the client to agree in writing to how a fee is divided between lawyers at different firms, so you’ll see exactly how it works before anything is final. Nothing about it is hidden.

Can Switching Lower Your Fee?

It can. Most Colorado firms charge 33-35% if the case settles before a lawsuit and 40-45% once one is filed. My fee is 29% pre-litigation and 33% if we sue, compared to the 33-35% and 40-45% most Colorado firms charge.

So if you’re with a firm charging 40% in litigation and you move your case to me, the total fee on your case drops to 33%, and the old firm’s share comes out of that 33%. On a $200,000 recovery, the difference between 40% and 33% is $14,000 that stays with you. Run your own numbers below.

Signs It’s Time to Switch

Some frustration is normal. Injury cases take time, and a lot of that time is waiting on doctors and insurance companies. But some things aren’t normal:

• You’ve never talked to your actual lawyer. Only case managers, intake staff, or paralegals.
• Nobody returns your calls for days or weeks at a time.
• You don’t know what’s happening with your case, and asking doesn’t change that.
• You’re being pushed to settle without a clear explanation of what the case is worth and why the offer is fair.
• Your lawyer won’t file suit when the insurance company refuses to pay what your injuries are worth.
• Deadlines are getting close and nobody has told you how they’re being handled.

That last one matters. In Colorado, most car crash injury claims have a three-year deadline to file suit, and claims against a government entity require written notice within 182 days (more on that in The 182-Day Deadline That Can Kill a Colorado Injury Claim). If you’re thinking about switching, do it well before a deadline, not the week before.

When Switching Isn’t a Good Idea

I’ll be straight about this, because not every unhappy client should move. If your case is days away from resolving and your lawyer has done the work, switching can slow things down without changing the result. If the issue is that your case is moving slower than you’d like but your lawyer is communicating and has a plan, a direct conversation with them may fix it.

If you’re not sure, get a second opinion. I’ll tell you honestly whether I think a change helps you. Sometimes the answer is to stay.

How to Switch Lawyers in Colorado

1. Talk to the new lawyer first. Make sure they’ll take the case and you understand their fee before you end things with your current firm.
2. Ask how the old lawyer’s fee will be handled, and get it in writing.
3. Send your current lawyer a short written notice ending the representation. No explanation is required.
4. Your new lawyer requests the file. Colorado’s ethics rules require your old lawyer to turn over the papers and property you’re entitled to. You don’t have to pick it up yourself.
5. If a lawsuit has been filed, the new lawyer files a substitution of counsel with the court.

From there, the new lawyer works with the old firm on their lien and gets your case moving again.

A Case I Took Over

A client came to me after a rear-end crash on a Denver street. Her case had been with a large Denver advertising firm, and State Farm’s top offer to that firm was $10,791. The firm wasn’t willing to litigate what looked, on paper, like a small case.

I took the case over and sent State Farm the same records the prior firm already had, with a demand for the $100,000 policy limit and a deadline. When the deadline passed, we filed suit in Denver District Court. State Farm paid the full $100,000 within a few months. I wrote up the whole case in State Farm Offered $10,791. We Filed Suit and Got $100,000.

Past results don’t guarantee a similar outcome in any other case. What that case shows is that a stalled case isn’t always a weak case. Sometimes it just needs a lawyer willing to file suit.

What You Get When You Switch to Venyx

When you hire me, you get me. You’ll have my cell phone number, and the attorney you talk to is the attorney handling your case. I’ve filed more than 300 lawsuits, and I prepare every case as if it’s going to trial, because insurance companies pay attention to lawyers who actually go there.

If you’re unhappy with your current lawyer, call me at 877-2929-LAW. I’ll look at where your case stands, tell you whether switching makes sense, and explain exactly how the fees would work before you decide anything. You can also read more about how my fees work or what a contingency fee is.

Switching Lawyers FAQ

Can I fire my personal injury lawyer in the middle of my case?

Yes. Colorado clients can discharge their lawyer at any time, with or without a reason, and a fee agreement can’t take that right away.

Will I have to pay two attorney fees if I switch?

Usually not. Your old lawyer can claim the reasonable value of the work they did, but under Colorado’s standard fee agreement language that’s paid from the recovery and capped at what they would have earned. On cases I take over, that share comes out of my fee, so you pay one fee total.

Does my old lawyer get their full percentage?

Generally no. A lawyer fired without wrongful conduct on their part is typically limited to the reasonable value of the services they provided, not the full contingency fee.

What if I fire my lawyer for a good reason, like misconduct?

It depends on the fee agreement. Colorado’s standard form only allows a fee claim when the client ends the agreement without wrongful conduct by the lawyer. If the lawyer’s conduct caused the firing, they may have forfeited the fee.

Do I need my old lawyer’s permission to switch?

No. You only need to tell them in writing that you’re ending the representation. Your new lawyer can handle the rest, including requesting your file.

Will switching lawyers hurt my case?

Not usually, and the insurance company won’t treat your claim differently because you changed lawyers. The main risk is timing, so switch well before any filing deadline.

This post is general information, not legal advice. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any other case.