Un-Noted Changes a Standard Form Contract

[Doc_Larry]

Is it legal/ethical for an attorney to make changes to a Bar Association stock contract without noting them to the other party? I recently purchased a piece of real estate and the seller who is also an attorney presented to my attorney a NYSBA Real Estate Contract of Sale. My attorney forwarded the contract for my signature without comment. My attorney claimed to have reviewed the contract, which I did not read (8 pages of 8 point legalese) because that is what I thought I had paid him for. Only after signing did I notice things that did not look right. For example, it says that "the buyer pays the broker's commission" and that if the deal falls through for no fault of the buyer (me) that the "escrowee delivers the deposit to the seller". Comparing the contract to the NYSBA original I have found numerous edits and changes all of which make the terms much more favorable to the seller. The bottom line is that the deal has cost me an additional $36,000 because of the changes and their not being brought to my attention before I signed, and it could have been a total disaster if there were any major glitches. Is this legal?

Thanks in advance!