A New York dentist sued his attorney-who'd just won him a $1.4 million award-when the lawyer changed his contingency fee from 25 to 33 1/3 percent. The attorney had never sent his client the contingency agreement and had "lost" his own copy. After a three-year legal battle, the attorney finally repaid the overcharge.

Thankfully, not all squabbles with attorneys are so extreme. But disputes are common: In 1995, state lawyer disciplinary agencies investigated almost 66,000 complaints against attorneys, according to an American Bar Association survey. The agencies brought formal charges against more than 2,900 attorneys. The same year, about 800 lawyers were disbarred and 1,600 were suspended. The actual counts are probably higher; several jurisdictions didn't respond to the survey.

The good news: If your own attorney's carelessness, incompetence, or dishonesty has cost you money or harmed you personally or professionally, you may be able to get justice-possibly without filing suit. Here's what to do.

First, ask for restitution. Call and explain your position. Then, write a letter reviewing the dispute and summarizing your arguments. If the attorney owes you money, demand payment by a specified date. State that your next step will be to go to the state's lawyer disciplinary agency or small-claims court. Keep a copy of the letter; it might be presented in court at some point and could help clarify your case.

Some attorney client contracts require that disputes be brought to the lawyers attention within a certain timeline, so make sure you don't miss that deadline.

You're most likely to be successful with simple issues, such as over billing, rather than complex charges such as legal malpractice. No matter how small the dispute, though, proper preparation is the best weapon. "If you feel your attorney has overcharged you, for example, check around for substantiation," says Theresa Meehan Rudy, program director for HALT, a nonprofit legal-reform organization based in Washington D.C. "Then, if you learn that the going rate for a simple will is about $600, but you've been charged $1,600, present that evidence."

Contact your state's disciplinary agency. If asking doesn't work, fee arbitration is the most likely answer. Most state bar associations have an arbitration program in which board members hear both sides and recommend a resolution.

In many states attorney participation in fee arbitration is voluntary. Still, lawyers have an incentive to cooperate: They may avert a malpractice suit. Typically the fee-arbitration committee's decision isn't automatically binding; often you must take specific steps to make it stick or reject it and sue the attorney.

Suppose your lawyer didn't simply overcharge you-he actually pocketed the money awarded you. Then your state's lawyer disciplinary agency will review your complaint, investigate if warranted, and may hold a public hearing if it finds probable wrongdoing. If the lawyer is found guilty he may be reprimanded, suspended or disbarred. You won't pay for the investigation or the prosecution; you may need only to appear as a witness.

Why not simply report the pilfering attorney to the police? It is tough to prove he committed a crime. If he claims he intended to restore the money-even at some unspecified time in the future-legally he is not guilty of theft. That's why the state disciplinary agency may be your best bet; it can sanction an attorney even if no official crime was committed. For your state's disciplinary agency's address and phone number, contact your state bar association or the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility (See below).

There is one catch: Disciplinary action won't necessarily bring back your money. The delinquent lawyer may be ordered to pay restitution, but if not you can try applying for it from your local bar association's Client Protection Funds. Some states stipulate that you first sue your lawyer. Also, the payment per case to the total payouts per year may be limited.

Head for small-claims court. If your dispute is for a relatively modest amount (ranging from less than $2,000 to about $7,500, depending on the state), you may be able to resolve it in this venue. Call your state's administrative office of the Court to learn how to file a claim and what evidence you'll need to bring to court. If your loss was small, the amount recovered may not make up for the time spent in court. But the moral victory might be worth it.

File suit. If a disciplinary agency can't help and too much money is involved for you to go to small-claims court, suing may be your only weapon. "Suing your lawyer for mishandling your case lets you redo the original trial and try to recover the amount you'd have received, if not for the attorney's mistake, " says Cheryl Reiss-Curtis, a former psychiatrist who now practices law.

But winning a legal malpractice suit can be tough and expensive. "Few attorneys, if any, willingly admit they made a mistake that hurt your case and they may destroy or "lose" files that would bolster your argument against them," Says W. Robert Curtis, and attorney with Curtis & Reiss-Curtis, a New York law firm that specializes in plaintiff legal malpractice.

Moreover, "Courts tend to favor lawyers in legal malpractice cases," adds Curtis. "And your case could take years to resolve." Plus, you won't necessarily win just because your attorney made misjudgments. "Lawyers make mistakes all the time," Curtis says. "To constitute malpractice, the error must be serious enough to fall outside accepted standards."

Before bringing suit, find out whether your former attorney has malpractice insurance. If he doesn't and he has protected assets, suing might not be worthwhile; even if you win, you may not be able to collect an award.

Still don't simply assume you have no chance to prevail. People do win judgments against attorneys. The counsel for a New York actor who'd been shot by a parking-garage attendant compromised his client's case against the garage owner by trying to bribe the opponent's witness. "We sued the lawyer for malpractice and settled for $250,000, which represented part of the damages that should have been awarded had the case been handled correctly," says Curtis.

Finding an attorney to handle your case can be challenging. "Lawyer's don't like to sue other lawyers," says HALT's Theresa Meehan Rudy. "Even those willing to do it won't consider taking a case unless the amount recovered will total at least $10,000 to $50,000." In some firms the minimum's about $200,000.

You can find advice and a list of attorneys who will take such a case in "If You Want to Sue a Lawyer: A Directory of Legal Malpractice Attorneys" (Available for $13.95 including postage and handling, from HALT, 1612 K ST NW, STE 510, WASHINGTON, DC 20006). You can also ask your state bar association for referrals. Or consult the Martindale-Hubbell Law directory, which lists law firms nationwide and the types of law they practice. Your library may have a copy.

Sometimes, if an attorney overcharges you or botches your case, the best you can do is to make sure none of your colleagues ever use him. But with a little luck and the advice in this article, you may be able to be more than that.

How to prevent disputes with your lawyer

Choosing a reputable attorney will help avoid conflicts. Ask your colleagues or your state bar association for recommendations. When you've made a tentative choice, call your state lawyer disciplinary agency to find out about any previous public disciplinary actions or current complaints against that attorney. You can get the appropriate phone number from the American Bar Association Center for Professional Responsibility (call 312-988-5304, or visit its web site, www.abanet.org/cpr/disciplinary.html).

Or check with the National Lawyer Regulatory Data Bank, which discloses public sanctions in disciplinary cases. Each lawyer name search costs $5. Write to National Lawyer Regulatory Data Bank, American Bar Association, 541 N. Fairbanks Court, Chicago, Ill. 60611-3314 or call 312-988-5321. Its Web site, www.abanet.org/cpr/databank.html, provides additional details.

Make sure any contract you sign with your lawyer spells out exactly what services he'll provide and breaks down the charges that will incur. Keep a copy of the contract and any correspondence with him.

At each meeting with your lawyer, make sure you concur on what was decided. If your lawyer doesn't provide "minutes," write a summary yourself, and send him a copy.