Lawyers operate in a position of social trust. Their actions can have major implications for the lives of their clients, regardless of what kind of law they practice. Therefore, there are many legal and professional standards that apply to attorneys but not to members of the general public. Violations of best practices and industry rules are warning signs that lawyers may not always have the best interest of their clients at heart.
Some lawyers engage in overtly unethical conduct, such as taking on clients when they have a blatant conflict of interest. Others violate minor rules, which can be a warning sign that they may also break or bend other industry regulations. Lawyers have to comply with specific rules regarding how they handle their billing practices.
Attorneys who require a retainer paid upfront before they offer representation to their clients must abide by several rules regarding how they handle those retainers. Violations of retainer rules can constitute legal malpractice and may be a warning sign that lawyers will cut corners in other areas as well. What are the most common retainer violations?
Commingling retainer funds
In general, lawyers have a duty to keep a client’s retainers separate from personal resources and business funds. Typically, lawyers accomplish this by depositing the funds into a specialized escrow account. The failure to fully separate a client’s retainer from personal or business resources could lead to the inappropriate use or diminished of the retainer.
Refusing to account for the use of a retainer
Lawyers must generally provide a thorough accounting of their billing practices to their clients. For example, they must show how and when they billed for the funds included in someone’s retainer. The failure to do so could be a form of legal malpractice. So could inappropriately billing for services, such as charging for 30 minutes of time for a two-sentence email.
Clients frustrated by the outcome of their legal case or by the seemingly excessive billing practices of the lawyer who represented them in a legal matter may have grounds for a legal malpractice claim against the attorney. Clients can sometimes secure compensation from lawyers who inappropriately handled their retainers and may have billed improperly for the services provided.
Taking legal action against an attorney who violates ethical standards could compensate the clients harmed by those improper practices.
