To fire my lawyer or not to ..... opinions please?

[katie3234]

Hi Jim M. I wish you luck! I just don't know if I can update it on my own without the lawyer, since I think she is still technically my representative. I wish you luck with your lawyer/contact, it is extremely frustrating when you are waiting for a reply so you can move forward. Good luck with it all.

[CharlieD10]

Send a case-specific enquiry email to the visa office with your updated information.  My husband is listed as my representative, but I used the case-specific enquiry form and updated them when I started working again this year after a break of a few months.  I don't think there's any rule that says you can't communicate directly with the visa office even though you have a representative on record.

[rjessome]

Anyways.....
In June I got a new job, its a casual position but I am making more than what I was previously making. When I emailed her my work information (employment offer letter, first pay stub) she said quote, "we do not need to inform CIC of your offer of Employment, therefore I will keep the information in your file" ....... I now realize that this is considered an omission. I don't know what is up with her since she hasn't responded to me, and honestly I have lost my steam and am unsure what more I can say to have her see things for what they are.

Actually, this is not considered an ommission.  If the lawyer felt that there were no factors that would make a visa officer consider A39 (inadmissible for financial reasons) then this was a judgement call.  This section of the Act is not used very often in spousal sponsorship cases.  If you had a history of receiving welfare and your spouse was practically unemployable then it would be prudent to add this information.  If not, then the lawyer is right, it is not necessary to add it.

[toby]

I agree with CharlieD as well that the lawyer's interpretation of this statement is incorrect.  The key point in the statement would be "person being sponsored" as approval to BE a sponsor is clearly not the same.  You could always make a complaint about the poor service you received to the provincial law society that this lawyer belongs to if you cannot resolve this.  Damn, I hate stories like this but, for me anyway, it just goes to show that being a lawyer does not make one better at this work than a regulated consultant.

Why not draft the complaint to the provincial law society and show it to the lawyer first, out of "courtesy"?  That might make the lawyer more amenable to giving a partial refund to make the mess go away.   

[justina]

Thank you once agin to everyone who responded. I had emailed the lawyer yesterday (with help), and still have not received a response. She usually takes about 6 days to respond, although yesterday she was responding within an hour, until my last email.

Anyways.....
In June I got a new job, its a casual position but I am making more than what I was previously making. When I emailed her my work information (employment offer letter, first pay stub) she said quote, "we do not need to inform CIC of your offer of Employment, therefore I will keep the information in your file" ....... I now realize that this is considered an omission. I don't know what is up with her since she hasn't responded to me, and honestly I have lost my steam and am unsure what more I can say to have her see things for what they are.

Although she is still technically my representative (I think) am I able to just send CIC my new work info on my own? If so how do I go about it?

And is she able to terminate the contract without telling me? Since I have already paid her $2000 I would like to keep her on, despite everything, but I am worried that she will go ahead and terminate the contract without telling me.

Thank you!

We had a lawyer listed but when we updated our address in CIC we just removed her address as mailing address and put in our own. We had only hired her to review our app before sending, we didn't have her advising beyond that but would have if required.

To send CIC updates, put your info in a package with all your info and file numbers and a note saying add to your file. Send by registered mail to ensure you know it arrived.

[Quince777]

What can I do if I paid the lawyer to start my application but I didn't go ahead with them? In the agreement I signed it said that fees were not refundable. I had only a couple of consultations with that lawyer and some correspondence with the assistants. However I did not go ahead with them, as I was not happy with their services. They took very long time to respond to my e-mails and the lawyer was kind of rude to me, saying I was wasting their time when I had my questions and concerns voiced.

[rjessome]

What can I do if I paid the lawyer to start my application but I didn't go ahead with them? In the agreement I signed it said that fees were not refundable. I had only a couple of consultations with that lawyer and some correspondence with the assistants. However I did not go ahead with them, as I was not happy with their services. They took very long time to respond to my e-mails and the lawyer was kind of rude to me, saying I was wasting their time when I had my questions and concerns voiced.

You can request a review of the fees and services provided (you should have been invoiced) until you decided to withdraw for filing the application and the lawyer/client relationship ended.  You do this through the provincial law society in the province where the lawyer is licensed to practice.  Keep in mind that you are paying for TIME.  You say you had some consultations and correspondence.  All of that adds up to time which is billable.  The law society will decide how much, if any of your money should be refunded.