my lawyer disappeared... office closed and cleaned out, is there any way to find out what happened? phone disconnected... website still opens, but I think it's been abandoned...

is there a lawyer's association that I can contact?

don't know if I should post the lawyer's name here.... but the office was located in eastern Fairfax county.

Tell us what his name is and the firm name

Google is your friend. Start with the name of the lawyer, the firm, and also try the address of the office and the phone number. You'll probably turn up something.

Are you trying to find out what happened to the lawyer or are you worried about your stuff the lawyer has?

If it is the later, I would contact an association of lawyers. But is there one? Hmmmm. I think I will go to the bar and ponder this.

Radiophile Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are you trying to find out what happened to the
> lawyer or are you worried about your stuff the
> lawyer has?
>
> If it is the later, I would contact an association
> of lawyers. But is there one? Hmmmm. I think I
> will go to the bar and ponder this.



LOL nice

Contact the VA State Bar

My lawyer close his office and is gone i have my case and I have been doing payments for over a year and my case is not solved what can I do

1) Contact the Court and make them aware that the attorney working on your case is gone. ............

It sounds shady if he picked up and moved- with all of your payments.

I'd check with the VA state Bar to see if he had actually passed the Bar & if he was qualified.

You can also email David Albo, one of our State Reps. for Northern Va. He is pretty good at looking into stuff like this.

Find out who manages the office building from the building directory or one of the tenants. Call him to find out where you can contact your lawyer.

jkf Wrote:
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> My lawyer close his office and is gone i have my
> case and I have been doing payments for over a
> year and my case is not solved what can I do

What do you mean by this? Are you trying to figure out what happened to your lawyer who suddenly disappeared, or are you upset because your lawyer decided to retire (or dump you as a client) before he completed your case?

If it is the latter, you need to read your fee agreement with the lawyer, but most permit the lawyer to terminate the relationship before the case is completed. In that case you need to get a copy of your file and then locate another lawyer to take over your case.

If it is the former then you should start by contacting the Virginia State Bar and try to locate the person or find out what happened to him or her. If your case is scheduled for a hearing soon you need to contact the court to let them know the situation and see about getting the trial delayed. If it will be a while before your trial you need to find a new attorney, plus probably get your file from the old attorney. Do not expect the new attorney to give you much of a price break just because you had a prior attorney that you made payments to.

Could your 'lawyer' have passed away?

Just go ahead and post your lawyers name.
You might find out what happened to him/her


-------------------------------------------------------
> Could your 'lawyer' have passed away?

Yeah, sorry about that, I, um - had some business out of town for a minute. And the landlord said there was a carbon monoxide leak in the building? So they had to, yeah, they had to take all of my stuff and put it into storage to keep it safe. Because of the radon? So, yeah. I'll call you Monday, okay. Hang in there. The State's Attorney is full of shit, I know your alibi is rock-solid, don't worry. We're totally gonna win this one. I can cash your last check, right?

Imagine, that, a scumbag lawyer, wow ...could have knocked me over with a feather

jkf Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My lawyer close his office and is gone i have my
> case and I have been doing payments for over a
> year and my case is not solved what can I do


Better get a lawyer.......

i talk to his partner and she said they had trouble and they split up she also talked to him by phone and he said he has been in jail for try to hit her with a hammer plus some other problems he said that he know his license is going to be suspended and he is just going to refer to annother atturney... now she told me that he is not planning to give any money back that he rather go to jail

his name is Bart A. Chavez Attorney at law,P.C.,LLO this is in omaha NE

Oh, he's in Nebraska. Why didn't you say so? This is definitely the right place to come for all of your Nebraska legal questions.

He got caught doing a client in courthouse restroom after hours. Apparently the guy was unable to pay and he settled it with sex

Just goe to www.vsb.org and then find the telephone number - call the state bar and they will help. If the lawyer took you money, the state bar has a funds to help repay you - they make all lawyers pay an annual fee to this fund to cover lawyers who mess up and steal client funds - just explain your situation to them and they will be great at helping.

Was it Saul Goodman?

This happened to me a few years back. I hired a lawyer in Minnesota, while I was livign in VA. Gave him a retainer...........I call the court to see whats up cause I hadnt heard anything in awhile, find out my date was that Monday (and it was Friday).

Found out my lawyer had been notified and he didnt pass the info. Talked to the Minnesota State Bar and they took his license away, said I could have sued, but he didnt have any money anyway.

JFK, I am an immigration attorney in Omaha and can try to help you. I know first-hand about Bart Chavez. Please call me at (402) 333-4884. Thank you and good luck.

Well in 2010 he was censured for...."having engaged in contumelious or otherwise obnoxious conduct while representing a client"...

http://www.supremecourt.ne.gov/professional-ethics/lawyers/attysanctions.shtml?sub16


To file a complaint:

http://www.nebar.com/

Thats what you get for using the same lawyer as Tony Montana

Wow, ... a phone number from another lawyer. Shocker ! ! Any lawyer ... (or lawyer group I might say) SO interested in Bart Chavez ... as to post on these types of blogs ... is likely pretty pathetic.

If you have an attorney and they are not at the same office, why don't you simply write a letter? The letter would forward to the lawyer. I know, however, from personal experience, that immigration clients either claim "no ingles," ... or don't even have a pen or peice of paper in their vicinity. (I'm not even going as far as the whole "stamp concept." That would be outrageous.

In reading this post and the responses, I see two things. The original posting individual just says "my lawyer," ... and let's get real. Immigration clients claim an attorney is their lawyer for several years, even if the attorney contracts to make one specific filing for them for a set price. So, Bart Chavez probably isn't still your lawyer anyway. Secondly, finding Bart Chavez ... is not difficult. In fact, there was an attorney or some interested person, who subsequently posted, telling you that he/she "KNEW FIRST HAND" (I wish people in the midwest could start articulating their thoughts in ... well ... a way in which you didn't assume they had a massive mouthful of Red Man Plug between their cheek and gum ... but whatever) about Bart Chavez. If that person is cool, they will put you in contact with Bart Chavez. If that person is not cool ... (which, I can tell you ... they probably aren't ... meaning they aren't good lawyers either) they will enjoy discussing irrelevant matters in regard to Bart Chavez, rather than actually helping you solve your problem. In the worst case, they are posting to get your MONEY ... and I would certainly hope that isn't their motivation.

If you want a good immigration attorney, you had one in Bart. But if you need a new one, I would go far from the midwest. These people simply don't know what they are doing in re: to immigration matters. They haven't had enough of them, and they all stab each other in the back. Call lawyers from out of state, or closer to either coast. In those states, immigration practice has been going on for years and years, and they aren't caddy or unprofessional in dealing with their competition.

Further, there is a link above in regard to Bart Chavez, that has absolutely nothing to do with the issue. He was reprimanded by a Court in Texas for vehemently defending his client. He argued with the court reporter and called their office and the Judge "F'ing Lazy." Do you think calling a judge lazy is out of line? Well, of course it is .. but THANK GOD SOMEONE FINALLY SAID IT ! Yeah, it was wrong. But do you think all the judges you have seen, have read your file? Do you ever feel like a judge hasn't been fair? I mean ... if judges are so fair and honerous ... I hope you write to them, along with this scavenging lowball attorney trying to get your case, and tell them all how they are doing a great job ... and nothing should change.

I hope I have an attorney that would stand up to a judge, and an entire system, and bawl them out for running their circus courtrooms like a 9-5 security guard position. They have a duty ! And with that comes a duty. If they don't want it, get the hell of the bench and back to the golf course. Problem: If they aren't on the bench, they would have to find a real job ... and probably couldn't go to the golf course.

So your lawyer disappeared. How did you know his office was cleaned out? You, my friend, need to get a tad more resourceful. And I'm 99% sure ... you had not paid your bill. But that is just a guess. A very accurate guess I am willing to bet.

Go give your money to the law office above (know that I did a google search on the number) ... seems like they would be pretty darn excited to tell you all the details about Bart Chavez. A lawyer like that has no business practicing. The law isn't about bringing down your own. That lawyer has an ethical duty to try to get in touch with you and get in touch with Bart, and resolve the situation. From what I read, that attorney wants to spread rumors. If that is an ethical attorney, then go for it. I have a strong feeling though, you might be paying for it.

You might keep this in mind:

Gossip is what you say about the objects of flattery when they aren't present.
P. J. O'Rourke

But, what do you do ? Write Bart Chavez a letter. It will forward to him. He will get it. If he doesn't respond to it, you probably haven't paid him to do that. Then, get a tissue and find someone else to blame for whatever it is that you, yeah bud .... YOU ... did. (I'm sure nothing ... as I am already tearing up for you). And for the love of all that is holy and decent, NEVER TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN ACTIONS. I think you probably have that part covered though.

I'm not a brain surgeon. This answer just makes me look really ... really smart.

Good luck !

I find it disgusting and vile that another lawyer has to stick his miserable nose into this situation! What a fucking low life! Brian who? Obviously, his boss never taught him ethics or anything else for that matter. Hey Brian, before you go blowing your big mouth why don't you get your facts straight? I was a client of Mr. Chavez's many years ago and he always treated me with respect and dignity. On top of that, he got me my green card! Stick it in your face Brian! This is the result of losers like you getting involved in situations such as this. By the way, what a cheap way to market for legal services! I thought lawyers had more class!

I consider this to be a good start . Let's all hope that this gratifying trend gains momentum.

Bart Chavez was disbarred in April 2012.

As for IammyBrothersKeeper, your answer does not make you look smart but rather like a cluesless bigot.

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