Florida Lawyer Entered A No Contest Plea Without My Approval. Should I Ask For A Refund?

Location: Florida

Hi everyone! Looking for some advice.

I hired a traffic lawyer in Florida for $699 to handle a few tickets, including a criminal charge for driving with a suspended license. My license was never suspended and I sent them an official DMV record I got just 30 minutes after the traffic stop. Later it even turned out the license number on the ticket wasn't mine, it had a Florida format while my state's license is different

They had pretty good Google reviews (although I later noticed negative ones disappearing). Before I paid, they estimated an 80% chance of dismissal. Obviously not a guarantee, just some context.

Communication was great until I paid. After that it was terrible. Days without answering emails or calls, even after hearings. I figured they were just busy.

Then things got weird.

After a hearing they emailed saying the case was ready to close, but the judge needed me to sign and notarize a Waiver of Rights and provide fingerprints.

I asked if that meant the charges would be dismissed.

Their exact response: "Yes they will close them out, not guilty for this"

Sounded good right?

But when I checked the court website, I found a JUDGMENT already entered for a NO CONTEST plea with adjudication withheld on the criminal charge, plus $358 in court fees. The judgment was dated BEFORE they even asked me to sign anything.

I read the waiver carefully and realized it involved agreeing to that same no contest plea. Nobody had discussed this specific plea with me or explained its consequences.

When I confronted the lawyer, he promised to call and explain. Never did.

I lost trust and hired another law firm at my own very high expense. They got the judgment vacated and the prosecutor eventually dropped the case.

One important detail: I later noticed the payment receipt included terms allowing the firm to enter a no contest plea at their discretion. I understand that's something they might point to, but I was never consulted about the actual plea, and being told "not guilty" when a no contest judgment had already been entered feels extremely misleading.

I honestly wonder what would've happened if I'd just trusted the lawyer and signed everything without reading it.

Now I'm considering requesting my $699 back. I have all the emails, the original judgment and the later court documents.

Would you request a refund first or file a complaint with the Florida Bar? Would the Bar even take this seriously? And could asking for a refund somehow backfire on me?

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