People who hire lawyers don’t always receive the guidance and support they deserve. Some people experience legal malpractice. The professional they hire fails to follow best practices or engages in outright negligent behavior. The client may experience a poor outcome in their legal matter because of their attorney’s conduct.
Legal malpractice may involve an attorney failing to act in the client’s best interests or lacking knowledge that professionals should have. It can also occur in cases involving financial misconduct. The following are some of the ways in which attorneys might commit malpractice as a result of their financially-related behaviors.
When they misrepresent their fees
There are numerous ways for attorneys to structure their billing practices. They should generally provide transparent information to prospective clients about how they bill. From their hourly rate to their retainer requirements, lawyers should have established billing practices and should disclose those practices to new clients before agreeing to represent them. When an attorney initially misrepresents the cost of their services, clients may end up overextending themselves financially. There should be clear information available about hourly rates and billing practices, and the lawyer’s invoices should align with those practices.
When they inflate their billable hours
Most lawyers charge an hourly rate and then bill in specific increments. Clients should know when hiring an attorney what their minimum amount of billable time is. Lawyers should be honest and transparent when requesting payment for the time spent researching, communicating or representing a client in court. If they bill for an hour of time when they send a two-sentence email, that could represent an unreasonable inflation of the time actually devoted to the client’s issue.
When they mismanage retainers
There are very clear rules for retainers or the large initial payments made by those in need of extensive legal services. Lawyers should maintain retainers separately from their personal and business accounts. They can request additional payment once their billable hours consume all of the retainer. Mixing funds, refusing to refund the unused portion of a retainer or inflating billable hours to keep all of a retainer are all examples of potentially actionable financial misconduct.
Whether legal malpractice involves financial misconduct or negligent representation, clients may be able to hold their attorneys accountable. Taking legal action can result in financial compensation for the clients affected by a lawyer’s questionable behavior. A successful legal malpractice lawsuit can also lead to professional consequences for the lawyer involved.