Location: British Virgin Islands, U.S.
Hi all,
I’ve seen this question asked before but maybe my situation changes the answer.
For clarity this is in the British Virgin Islands, I am US citizen.
I had quite a large case prepared against an employer who falsified police reports, employer refusal to payout vested agreements, etc. Firstly, it took almost 2 months to get a firm to represent, as most had a conflict of interest. I finally locked in a Kings Counsel representation. I paid $40k on retainer.
After considering everything I had and the difficulties of the BVI law, they determined only the labor case was worth pursuing. Ok fine, you’re the professional, so I’m listening to you.
Long story short, they continue to move the goal post for simple things like sending the demand letter to my previous employers attorney. The reasoning being they “have a busy case load”.
Again, I can understand. However, this is a Kings Counsel. This is strong representation in the Caribbean. I know that my labor case isn’t the usual million dollar settlements they handle, but my $40k retainer should be just as valuable as someone else retainer, right?
Most recently I asked for an update on the status of the demand latter, that was Monday morning. Today is Friday morning, and I have received no acknowledgement.
Is this semi-normal? Should I just be patient and expect them to be getting everything done? When I was searching for attorneys in the beginning, over and over they would tell me “time is important, you need to act quick”.
This counsel has been on retainer for almost three months and we haven’t even sent contact to my previous employers legal team yet. I felt three months ago I had a much stronger position, as I was still an employee on sick leave. All those advantages seem to have passed while waiting on my counsel.
It was difficult enough to get representation in the first place, so while I don’t want to lose it, I also feel my time is more valuable than no contact for week long periods without notice.