Can I Fire My Personal Injury Lawyer in Florida? Yes. Here Is What Actually Changes.

By Dominic L. Scheer, Esq., Florida Bar No. 1022250 · Reviewed by Dominic L. Scheer, Esq. · Last updated September 28, 2026

Most people who call us about switching lawyers have been sitting with the decision for weeks. They feel disloyal, they worry about paying twice, and they are not sure the new lawyer will be any better. Those are fair concerns, and each has a clear answer. What is not fair is a case that has gone quiet for months while a two-year clock runs in the background.

My lawyer won't call me back. Is that a reason to switch?

Sometimes. Ask for a written status update first: what has been done, what is being waited on, and what the next step is. A lawyer who cannot answer that in a ten-minute call has a communication problem at minimum. But some cases are slow for good reasons. If your treatment is ongoing, the demand should wait until the doctors are finished, and a lawyer who sends it early is leaving money on the table. You are entitled to know which situation you are in. The signs that it is time to look elsewhere:

• Your calls go to a case manager and you have not spoken to the attorney since the day you signed.
• Months have passed with no demand letter, no lawsuit, and no explanation of what is being waited on.
• You are being pushed to accept an offer that does not cover your medical bills, with no discussion of why.
• The two-year anniversary of the accident is approaching and nothing has been filed.
• Your lawyer told you they want to withdraw, or you received a motion to withdraw.
• You asked for a copy of your file or a status letter and did not get one.

Can I change lawyers in the middle of my case?

Yes. In Florida the client may end the attorney-client relationship at any time, with or without cause. You do not need a reason, you do not need the lawyer's permission, and you do not need to wait for a convenient moment in the case. Every Florida contingency fee contract also has to give you a short window after signing, measured in business days, to cancel by written notice and owe nothing for work done. If you signed with a firm last week and already regret it, act today.

What you should not do is stop cooperating with your current lawyer, ignore a deposition date, or sign with a second firm while the first one still represents you. The clean sequence is: decide, sign with the new firm, and let the new firm send the discharge letter and the file request the same day.

Will I have to pay two lawyers?

In the typical case, no. Here is how it works. A lawyer you discharge without cause on a contingency case may have a claim for the reasonable value of the work done before the switch, and only if the case actually recovers money. That claim is limited by the fee in the contract you signed. In practice the two firms resolve it between themselves, out of the one contingency fee, based on who did what. Costs the first firm advanced (records, filing fees, experts) are reimbursed from the settlement either way. Your written contract with the new firm governs what you owe the new firm, and a competent successor firm writes that contract knowing the prior claim exists. The switch itself, in the usual case, adds nothing to the fee line.

The reverse is different. A lawyer who withdraws on their own, before the case resolves, generally gives up the fee. So a firm that drops a case it no longer wants is usually not in a position to bill you for it later. The rule text behind all of this, with links, is in our explainer article.

What is the most a lawyer can charge on a Florida injury case?

Florida sets a schedule of maximum contingency percentages for personal injury cases, and a fee above the schedule needs a judge's approval. The percentage depends on how far the case has gone: one figure before the other side files its answer, a higher one after, a lower one if the other side admits fault, and an added percentage if an appeal or collection is needed to get paid. Larger recoveries use lower percentages on the portion above certain amounts. Those numbers are the ceiling whether one lawyer worked the case or three, which is why switching does not raise the total. The calculator below applies them.

The Settlement Reality Check

Enter the settlement offer or the number you expect, the stage of the case, your medical bills and liens, and the costs you know about. Turn on the switching toggle to see both columns. It does arithmetic on numbers you already have. It does not estimate what your case is worth, and it is not advice.

A worked example

A case settles for $100,000 before the other side files an answer. The medical liens total $15,000 and the lawyer advanced $2,500 in costs. Under the Florida schedule the fee at that stage is one third.

Line	If you stay	If you switch
Gross settlement	$100,000	$100,000
Attorney fee (33 1/3 percent)	− $33,333	− $33,333, divided between the two firms
Case costs	− $2,500	− $2,500, reimbursed to whichever firm advanced them
Medical bills and liens	− $15,000	− $15,000
Estimated net to you	$49,167	$49,167

The same case, the same fee, the same net. What the switch changes is who does the work and who you can reach, not the arithmetic. If the liens are negotiated down, the net goes up in both columns.

Can my old lawyer keep my file?

Not for long. When a representation ends, the outgoing lawyer has to hand over the papers and property you are entitled to: your original documents, court filings, signed agreements, the correspondence you need, discovery you paid for, and billing records. The lawyer can keep internal notes and drafts. Copy charges have to be reasonable. And in a contingency case, a lawyer is not supposed to hold your file hostage for a fee that has not been earned yet. A firm that refuses to release the file to your new lawyer is not on solid ground, and we know how to ask.

Do my deadlines pause while I switch?

No. This is the part that makes waiting expensive.

• Most negligence claims in Florida have a two-year deadline to file suit. Car accidents, slip and falls and most boating injuries fall here. See the two-year deadline explained.
• Medical negligence claims require a formal presuit investigation and notice before a lawsuit can be filed, with its own waiting period, inside the same two-year window. A lawyer who let a medical case sit without starting presuit has cost you months you may not have.
• Cruise passengers are bound by the deadlines in the ticket contract, which are much shorter than Florida's, and they are enforced. Our cruise deadlines page explains why.
• PIP benefits depend on getting initial treatment within days of a car accident. Changing lawyers cannot fix that if it was missed, but a new lawyer can tell you honestly where it leaves the case.

The first task when a new lawyer takes over is a deadline audit: what has been filed, what has been served, what date controls, and how much room is left. We do that before we talk about anything else.

What happens when we take the file

You do not fire your lawyer and then go looking for a new one. You sign with us first, and we do the rest the same day: the discharge letter, the file request, the substitution with the court, and a deadline audit before anyone talks about strategy. From that point the case is ours to run. You get the attorney's direct number, not a case manager's, and a written status update at every stage without asking. If you only want a second opinion on an offer or on how the case is being handled, that is a flat-fee review with a written answer, and it does not commit you to switching. What we do not do is step in for one hearing or one deposition while you keep the rest of the case; we take the whole file or we send you back to the lawyer you have.

When is switching a mistake?

If your case is set for trial in six weeks and your lawyer has done the work, switching now would hurt you, and we will say so. If the silence you are experiencing is because treatment is ongoing and the demand should wait, we will explain that and send you back. If a mediation is already scheduled and the offer on the table is reasonable, a new lawyer restarting the file can cost you the momentum. A second lawyer who tells you the first one is doing fine has still done you a service, and that is the honest version of this page that the high-volume firms leave out.

By case type

Car and truck accidents. The most common switch we see: signed at a volume firm, never assigned to an attorney. We review the PIP log, the medical records, the property damage file and the demand history, then decide whether to send a fresh demand or file. Car accident cases.

Slip and fall. These cases live or die on proof that the business knew about the hazard. If the first lawyer never sent a letter demanding that the video be preserved, we need to know today. Slip and fall cases.

Boat, jet ski and cruise injuries. Many injury firms treat a boating case like a car case. It is not: maritime law can change the deadline, the defendant, the available damages and even which court hears it. Dominic practices maritime law as well as personal injury, which is the combination a stalled boating case needs. Boat and jet ski accidents and maritime law.

Medical negligence. We take these files for evaluation. Where the case belongs with a lawyer who tries medical malpractice cases full time, we co-counsel with or refer to one and tell you why. What we will not do is let a presuit deadline run while a file sits on a desk.

How does the transition work with you?

1. You send the fee agreement, any correspondence from the current firm, and a short timeline. We run a conflict check.
2. We review what you have and give you an honest read: switch, stay, or get more information first. This step is free.
3. If you decide to switch, you sign our contingency agreement, with the client's rights statement Florida requires, and we send the discharge letter and file request to the prior firm the same day.
4. We file the substitution with the court, audit every deadline, and resolve the prior firm's claim between the firms.
5. You get a direct line to the attorney, not a case manager, and a written status update at each stage.

See how our fees work and the overview of what comes after your case.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I fire my personal injury lawyer in Florida?

Yes, at any time and with or without a reason. You do not need the lawyer's consent. The clean way to do it is to sign with the new firm first and let the new firm send the discharge letter and file request, so there is never a gap with nobody on the case.

Does it cost money to switch personal injury lawyers?

In the typical contingency case, no. The fee percentage does not change when you switch. The two firms divide the one fee based on the work each did, and costs the first firm advanced are reimbursed at settlement either way. Your contract with the new firm governs what you owe the new firm.

Will I have to pay two contingency fees?

No. Florida caps what a lawyer can take from a personal injury recovery, and that cap applies to the case, not to each lawyer. The prior firm's claim for work already done is normally resolved between the firms out of that one fee.

What is the maximum contingency fee in Florida?

Florida sets a schedule that depends on the stage of the case and the size of the recovery, with a lower percentage before the other side answers, a higher one after, a reduced one if fault is admitted, and an added percentage if an appeal is needed. A fee above the schedule needs court approval. The calculator on this page applies the current schedule, and the explainer article links to the rule.

Can my old lawyer refuse to give my file to my new lawyer?

Not for long. When the representation ends, the lawyer must turn over the papers and property you are entitled to, and in a contingency case is not supposed to hold the file for a fee that has not been earned. Your new lawyer sends the request.

Do my deadlines pause while I change lawyers?

No. Florida's two-year limit for most negligence claims, the medical negligence presuit requirements, and cruise ticket deadlines all keep running. The first thing a new lawyer should do is audit every deadline in the file.

What if my lawyer wants to withdraw from my case?

A lawyer who withdraws on their own before the case resolves generally gives up the fee, unless your own conduct made it impossible to continue. Either way you need new counsel quickly, because the court usually gives you limited time to find one.

How long does it take to switch?

Days, not months. Once you sign with the new firm, the discharge letter and file request go out the same day, and the substitution is filed as soon as the case number is confirmed. The file transfer depends on the prior firm, and we follow up until it is complete.