Family Attorney Did Not Do What She Was Supposed To Do. Am I Entitled To A Refund?

I hired her midway through my case because it involved an issue my then attorney was not familiar with from another area of law. Up until then the judge granted several “temporary orders” in my favor as the hearings got continued.

My new attorney was handling the last several and I was already not pleased. She would show up not prepared and I was continuously whispering for her to say certain things to the court.

At the final hearing, my attorney had to present our proposed order with what we were granted. I didn’t find out until a month later after not getting emails responded to and driving down to the courthouse to find out she never submitted this so none of the temporary orders got signed off on and only the old original orders from 2019 I was trying to change are still in effect.

Now that I know for sure she never did this, I emailed her assistant Monday saying can I get a copy of the new order with the items the judge granted at the hearings. No reply.

I paid just under $20,000 and her final bill for an all day hearing where I brought all the exhibits and she didn’t even have a prepared closing argument, was rambling annoyingly until the judge told her to stop, she sent a final bill recently over a month later for over $5,400. She basically failed to make a permanent order on the items my prior attorney achieved to get as temps leading up to the final hearing, plus added nothing new that the judge verbally stated I could have (father no longer allowed to massage child and several other items) - I have none of that because she didn’t have a proposed order listing them on the final day for the judge to sign. The document the judge signed says that proposed order must be submitted simultaneously. The clerk told me when I went down Monday that if I want any changes (from the 2019) I have to file a brand new request for a hearing and have the issues heard again. I basically paid for nothing.

Do you think I’m in a position not to pay any or all of the final bill? Request a refund? Anything? The whole point was to get the new orders and she blew it, being disorganized and simply showing up each hearing unprepared. I thought I won because the judge was verbally saying this and that but the clerk said a proposed order was never presented and so none of that is in place as part of my current custody order! My attorney has not told me this yet only say ing congratulations weeks after I emailed her inquiring what all my new orders were and now not replying yet after I asked her assistant for a copy of the new order, now that I know it doesn’t exist.

Please let me know your legal thoughts if you are an attorney what you think I should do. This is in California.