Normal Lawyer Behavior or Find New Counsel?
I am in the middle of a separation. My file was delegated to a junior lawyer to save money as the lawyer I wanted was more money and had less available time. I am dealing with an abusive partner, lots of coercive control, name calling, not sharing things like extracurricular activities, etc.
I have sent my lawyer like 3 emails over the course, not including my financial disclosure. I sent my disclosure and heard nothing for several weeks. I sent a request for update and then they clearly began working on the file and asking me for documents.
Opposing counsel forwarded a parenting plan I did not agree with. I forwarded my concerns with the abuse, parenting concerns of the children to explain why I did not agree and what I wanted clarification on to understand what was reasonable to go in the plan. The lawyer did not respond to any questions I asked and just said, maybe send a counter proposal. I sent some things I wanted in the proposal. They sent me a letter with nothing I asked for and agreeing to things I didn’t agree to, asking my thoughts? I’m feeling very frustrated because:
- They are not reading or responding to my questions nor providing any advice, such as “put that in your court application” or “I understand that happened but has no bearing on the legal proceedings” or whatever. They just ignored an entire email.
- I sent them a schedule and they re-wrote the schedule for the children incorrectly, even though they had it in writing.
- They does not seem versed in abusive relationships, I asked for very strict timelines for things like consent and schedule changes to prevent conflict and she just made up timelines without discussing anything with me and put it in the letter.
I just want to know if this is normal lawyer behavior to save time? To just focus on what needs to be done and ignore the rest? I’m not bombarding with emails or calling, I have never called and only sent those 3 emails. It is normal to feel like this? Should I find a different lawyer who can advocate for me better or are experiences pretty much the same all around?
I am purposely using non gender pronouns for the lawyer.
TLDR: Lawyer doesn’t appear to care or read emails, should I find a new one?
Posted Jul 21, 2026, 3:14 PM UTC