It depends. Before you decide to take drastic steps that could alter your case, talk with the attorney about what you are upset about. The attorney may not even be aware of your unhappiness, and there may be steps the attorney can take to correct the situation.
If you are convinced the situation is beyond repair, what you do next depends on what type of attorney you have. If you have a public defender or a court appointed attorney, it may be very difficult to get another attorney. Judges will only rarely grant a defendant’s request for a change of a public defender or a court appointed attorney. It’s very common for disagreements to arise between defendants and their court appointed attorneys, and that is rarely sufficient to warrant a new attorney. However, if the problem is large enough, the judge may grant a new attorney.
If you have a private attorney whom you pay for, you can change attorneys whenever you want, unless you are in the middle of a trial or your trial is about to start, in which case you will need approval from the court. If you are in the middle of a trial or about to begin trial it may also be difficult to find a new attorney who is willing to represent you unless that attorney is given sufficient time to prepare. Otherwise, you don’t have to show a reason for the firing. You could then hire another attorney or represent yourself (which is not recommended). However, the problem with firing your attorney is expense. You will have to pay both your old attorney for work done as well as your new attorney, and it may be expensive to bring the new attorney up to speed on your case.
