We’ve written about retaining and charging liens, the Judiciary law, and how hearings on attorney fees can have collateral estoppel effects on legal malpractice litigation.  Here is aConnecticut case which discusses the same issues, albeit in a habeas corpus and "file retention" setting. 

Plaintiff hired the target attorney, had 13 boxes of files transferred, and the "situation deteriorated."   This led to firing, naming a new attorney who did not file transfer papers in CT, and legal malpractice litigation.  We can’t clip the decision for you, so you’ll have to read it on your own using the link.