What to do when your lawyer overcharges or stops responding

Terms used

• Hoja de encargo — The hoja de encargo is the written agreement with your lawyer setting out the work and the fees.
• Colegio de Abogados — The Colegio de Abogados is the local bar association that registers and disciplines lawyers.
• Jura de cuentas — The jura de cuentas is a court procedure where a lawyer claims unpaid fees from a client for work in a case.
• Procurador — The procurador is the court representative who handles filings and notifications for you in many civil cases.
• Tasación de costas — The tasación de costas is the court's calculation of the legal costs the losing party must pay.
• Poder — The poder is a power of attorney authorising someone to represent you.
• Apud acta — An apud acta appointment is made in person at the court to authorise a representative.

Key rules

• Deadlines: Changing lawyer does not pause court deadlines, so appoint the replacement before ending the old role.
• Complaint: A Colegio complaint can sanction the lawyer but does not award you compensation.
• Dismissal: You can dismiss a private lawyer at any time, and they still can't keep your file over unpaid fees.
• Fee claim: If your lawyer files a jura de cuentas claim, you have ten days to oppose.

Start with the safest move: protect your deadlines

Court deadlines keep running while you argue with your lawyer or change lawyers. Nobody pauses them for you. If your case is in court, sort out who represents you before you do anything else.

If your lawyer stops responding

Find your engagement letter (hoja de encargo) and your invoices, and check what was agreed. Then send your lawyer a written notice and keep a copy. Messages or letters that show they did not reply are useful evidence later.

If that gets no answer, you have two routes: complain, or change lawyer. You can do both.

Complain to the Colegio de Abogados

Complain to the Colegio de Abogados where the lawyer is registered. This is the bar association that supervises lawyers.

• Send a written complaint (queja or denuncia), usually at the Colegio's registry or electronically.
• Include your identity, the lawyer's details, the facts and supporting papers, such as the engagement letter and invoices.
• The Colegio first opens preliminary information (información previa). It may then close the matter or open a disciplinary file (expediente disciplinario).
• Outcomes range from closure or a warning to fines, suspension or expulsion.
• If you disagree with the decision, you can appeal to the Consejo de la Abogacía and then to the courts.

A complaint punishes the lawyer. It does not give you money back or compensation. For compensation you need a separate civil claim.

Challenge the fees

You can ask the Colegio for a fee report or arbitration if you think the fees are excessive.

If your lawyer claims unpaid fees from you for work in a court case (jura de cuentas), you can oppose within ten days. You raise your objection in that same proceeding. If you say the fees are excessive, the Colegio reports on them. Do not ignore the notice: ten days is short.

If you are the party who must pay the other side's legal costs, you can challenge the costs assessment (tasación de costas), usually within ten days.

Change lawyer

You can dismiss a private lawyer at any time. Do it in writing, even though the law does not require it. If you have a legal-aid lawyer, the change goes through the Colegio's legal aid commission.

Your old lawyer can still charge for work already done, under the engagement letter. Without one, the Colegio's criteria apply. They cannot keep your file to force you to pay. Ask for your documents, and ask your new lawyer to request the file too. The new lawyer must tell the previous lawyer about the takeover and check that your fees are paid up or that the dispute is being handled.

If a procurador is involved

In many civil cases a procurador (court representative) acts for you in court. Name the new one before you end the old one's role. The change only takes effect once the new appointment is made. Until then the court keeps sending notifications to the old procurador.

• The new representative needs a valid power of attorney (poder) or an appointment at the court (apud acta).
• Your new lawyer files a written notice naming themselves, so the court records the change.
• Your new team takes the case as it stands. Expired deadlines are not reopened. A new lawyer can ask the court for more time, but the court does not have to give it.
• If your procurador renounces, they must keep acting for ten days after telling you, unless a new one takes over sooner.

Rules differ in criminal, administrative and labour cases, where a procurador is not always required. Ask your new lawyer which applies to you.

Which order to use

1. Check your deadlines and your engagement letter.
2. Appoint the new lawyer and procurador first if the case is in court.
3. Dismiss the old lawyer in writing and ask for your file.
4. File the Colegio complaint or fee request once your case is safe.

The checklist, documents and timeline below walk through these steps.

Timeline and deadlines

• Name a new procurador (court representative) before ending the old one's role, because the change only takes effect once the new one is appointed: before or at the same time as you revoke the old procurador

• Have your new lawyer file a written notice with the court naming themselves, so the court records the change: as soon as you appoint the new lawyer, because deadlines keep running

• Expect the former procurador to stay in the role and receive court notifications: until the new procurador is appointed

• Challenge a costs assessment (tasación de costas) if you are the paying party: typically within ten days

Documents you need

• Your engagement letter (hoja de encargo), the written agreement with your lawyer on the work and the fees. Attach it to a Colegio complaint, and it also decides what fees the outgoing lawyer can claim.

• The lawyer's invoices for the work you are complaining about, to attach to a complaint to the Colegio de Abogados.

• A written complaint (queja or denuncia) with your identity, the lawyer's details and the facts, filed with the Colegio where the lawyer is registered.

• Other papers that support your complaint, such as messages or letters that show the lawyer did not reply.

• A valid power of attorney (poder) or an appointment made at the court (apud acta) for the new representative, so they can act for you in a case that is already in court.

• A written notice to your lawyer ending the relationship. It is advisable even though you can dismiss a lawyer at any time.

Checklist

• File a written complaint with the Colegio de Abogados where the lawyer is registered, at its registry or electronically.

• Include your identity, the lawyer's details, the facts and the supporting documents in the complaint.

• Oppose within ten days if your lawyer files a jura de cuentas claim against you.

• Dismiss the lawyer in writing if you decide to change, and appoint the new one.

• Ask the previous lawyer to hand over your file, and tell your new lawyer to request it.

• Tell your new lawyer about any open fee dispute with the old one.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get compensation by complaining to the Colegio de Abogados?

No, a complaint to the Colegio does not award you compensation. It can lead to a warning, a fine, suspension or expulsion of the lawyer. To claim money for the harm, you need a separate civil claim in court.

What can I do if the Colegio closes my complaint?

Yes, you can appeal the decision, first administratively to the Consejo de la Abogacía and then in court. Ask the Colegio for the decision in writing so you have it for the appeal.

How long do I have to oppose a lawyer's claim for unpaid fees?

You have ten days to oppose when your lawyer claims unpaid fees for a court case through a jura de cuentas. You oppose in the same proceeding. If you argue the fees are excessive, the Colegio gives a report on them.

Does my lawyer's claim for fees let them keep my file?

No, your outgoing lawyer cannot hold your documents to force you to pay fees. Professional ethics rules require them to hand over your file on request, even if a fee dispute is open.

Will the court give my new lawyer more time after I change lawyer?

Not automatically, because deadlines keep running when you change lawyer.