A litigious society, the poor image of lawyers and the erroneous impression that we are all rich, have created a cauldron of lawsuits against us, most of which are frivolous. Yet attorneys with high profile litigation practices are subjected to multi-million dollar claims by former clients ever in search of deep-pocket defendants. While we lawyers have brought on the age of consumerism,1 we have also become our own worst enemies, the victims of it. A Statement of Clients’ Rights and Responsibilities is posted in every law office, and plain language contracts are the order of the day.

Lawyers cannot charge non-refundable retainers,2 and minimum fee retainers are often misconstrued as such.3 Fee arbitration panels, with lay people as members, preside over cases where clients claim that they have been overcharged or not provided with itemized bills.4 Legal malpractice insurance carriers will disclaim coverage, hike premiums and provide for higher deductibles. The high cost of insurance has caused many attorneys to go “naked” meaning with no insurance or to become self-insured. Both large firms and solo practitioners or small firms have set up LLCs, and partners become judgment proof to avoid such claims.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]