Letter to Fire Your Lawyer: Michigan Template + What to Say

Most people rehearse the firing speech for a week, then chicken out on the phone. That’s fine, because you were never supposed to call anyway.

You fire a lawyer the same way you fire a contractor who stopped showing up: in writing, with a date, with a paper trail. Not with a voicemail. Not with a text. Not with a tearful confrontation where they talk you into “giving it one more week.”

Here’s how to write a letter firing your lawyer in Michigan without fumbling the handoff. (If you’re still deciding whether you’re allowed to, the short answer is yes: you can fire your Michigan injury lawyer at any time.)

Why does firing your lawyer have to be in writing?

Because a letter is proof. A phone call ends when you hang up. A letter exists forever.

If your lawyer later claims they “didn’t know” you terminated them, or bills for work done after you fired them, or drags their feet on releasing your file, the letter is your proof. No letter, no proof.

Do both:

• Certified mail, return receipt requested, to the firm’s business address. Keep the green card.
• Email, to your lawyer and the firm’s general inbox if they have one. Put “Termination of Representation: [Your Name]” in the subject line.

Belt and suspenders. The certified receipt is the legal anchor. The email is the one they’ll actually read first.

What must the letter say?

Five things. Your letter is a transaction, not a conversation:

1. The date and who you are. Name, case matter, and the date of your injury if they represent you on a PI claim.
2. The words “I am terminating your representation, effective immediately.” Not “I think I might want to.” Not “I’d like to discuss.” Terminating. Effective immediately.
3. A demand for your complete file under MRPC 1.16(d). Name the rule.
4. A deadline. “Within 14 days” is common and reasonable.
5. Instructions on where to send the file. A physical address and an email, or your new lawyer’s office.

That’s the letter. Anything else is garnish.

What should you leave out?

Three things. Cut these before you send:

• “I’m sorry, but…” You have nothing to apologize for. This is a business relationship ending.
• Anything explaining why. Do not list grievances. Do not attach texts. Do not relitigate the last six months. Reasons give them something to argue with. Silence gives them nothing.
• “Please call me to discuss.” You do not want a call. The call is how they talk you out of it.

The template

Re: Termination of Representation: [Your Name], [Date of Incident]

[Date]

[Attorney Name] [Firm Name] [Firm Address]

Dear [Attorney Name]:

I am terminating your representation of me in the above matter, effective immediately.

Pursuant to Michigan Rule of Professional Conduct 1.16(d), please deliver my complete client file within 14 days of the date of this letter. This includes all pleadings, correspondence, medical records, bills, photographs, investigator reports, expert reports, insurance communications, and any other documents pertaining to my case, whether in paper or electronic form.

Please send the file to [Your Address or New Counsel’s Address] and email a digital copy to [Your Email].

Do not perform any further work on my matter or communicate with any third party on my behalf after receipt of this letter.

Sincerely,

[Your Name] [Your Phone] [Your Email]

Copy, paste, fill in the brackets, print, sign, mail, email. Done.

If a lawsuit is already pending, the letter ends the relationship, but the court still has to approve the change of counsel (MCR 2.117(C)(2)). Your new lawyer files that substitution.

What file are you entitled to under MRPC 1.16(d)?

The papers and property of your case. Michigan Rule of Professional Conduct 1.16(d) says that when representation ends, your lawyer must “take reasonable steps to protect a client’s interests,” including “surrendering papers and property to which the client is entitled.”

Translation: the case file is yours.

That includes pleadings, correspondence with the insurance company, medical records they collected, bills, photos, witness statements, expert reports, investigator notes and any demand letters they drafted. The firm can keep a copy for its own records.

Fourteen days is a reasonable deadline. Some firms take longer. If you hit day 30 with no file, you have two levers: a request for investigation with the Attorney Grievance Commission, and MCR 8.122, which lets a client file a verified complaint in circuit court asking for an order directing the attorney to act. Usually a firmly worded letter from your new lawyer is enough.

Can a lawyer hold your file hostage?

Rarely, and not in a way that should hurt your case. Michigan recognizes an attorney’s retaining lien, a lawyer’s claim to hold papers as security for unpaid fees. But the comment to MRPC 1.16 limits it: a lawyer may keep papers as security for a fee “only to the extent permitted by law,” and even an unfairly discharged lawyer “must take all reasonable steps to mitigate the consequences to the client.”

In a contingency-fee personal injury case, the old firm’s fee is protected another way: a charging lien on the recovery when the case settles. That’s the right tool for their fee claim. Sitting on your medical records and pleadings while your deadlines run is not. (How that fee gets split is explained in will firing my lawyer cost me?)

If a firm says it won’t release your file until you sign something waiving or guaranteeing their fee claim, don’t sign. Document the refusal and have your new lawyer escalate.

What should you do the same day you send it?

Protect your deadlines and your paper trail. Before the certified letter even arrives:

• Line up new counsel before you mail the letter, not after. Deadlines don’t pause because you’re between lawyers. Most Michigan injury lawsuits must be filed within 3 years of the injury (MCL 600.5805(2)). No-fault PIP claims need written notice within 1 year of the crash, and you can only recover losses from the year before you sue (MCL 500.3145). Claims against a government agency, such as a pothole or city vehicle, can require written notice in as little as 120 days (the 120-day government notice rule). Know your clock.
• Preserve everything. Screenshot every text and email thread with the firm. Save voicemails. Download any client portal documents you still have access to.
• Tell the insurance adjuster in writing. One sentence: “As of [date], [Firm Name] no longer represents me. Please direct all communications to [New Counsel], [contact information].” This stops the old firm from negotiating for you after you’ve fired them, and keeps the adjuster from calling you directly. (If they call anyway, here’s whether you have to talk to the adjuster.)
• Don’t post about it online. Not on Facebook, not in a Reddit thread, not in a Google review. Not yet. Settle the case first.

The letter is the easy part. The next lawyer is the part that actually matters, and it’s rarely too late to switch lawyers mid-case. If you’re interviewing replacements, bring these 10 questions to ask a personal injury lawyer. Not sure firing is the right move yet? Get a free second opinion on your case before you mail the letter.

This article and template are general information, not legal advice for your specific case.