If You Want To Lose Clients and Ruin Your Reputation, Be Less Than Forthcoming With Your Clients
An article in today’s daily e-version of the New York Lawyer (originally from the Texas Lawyer) discusses a case in which an attorney in Texas was found to have concealed information from clients, resulting not only in the clients’ disenfranchisement with the lawyer and his (former) firm, but also a $129,000 award to the clients.
According to the article, the clients, three surviving family members of the decedent in an asbestos case, were advised by the attorney that all of the defendants in the case had agreed to a settlement. Some time afterward, one of the defendants rescinded its settlement offer. The clients claim that they were never notified of the change, and that the firm never contacted them to advise that the settlement they would be receiving was less than anticipated.
The clients claimed that the failure to timely advise them of the rescinded settlement offer precluded them from pursuing the defendant at trial prior to the defendant’s declaration of bankruptcy.
Perhaps even more disturbing, the clients claim that the law firm failed to respond to their numerous telephone calls and other inquiries after they realized that the settlement amount was less than originally agreed.
The lawyer handling the case claims that he never, “deliberately lied’ to the clients. But the failure to advise the clients of the change was enough for a jury to determine that the lawyer breached his fiduciary duty to his clients.
According to the article, both the individual lawyer and the law firm argued that the clients had received a reasonable settlement of their claim, and that therefore, the clients had not suffered any damages.
One of the clients was quoted in the article saying that the lawsuit wasn’t about the money. It was about the “principal of the thing” – and the lawyer’s failure to communicate with them and to return telephone calls once the lower settlement amount was discovered.
Whether the lawyer’s motion to set aside the verdict is granted or not, it is clear that the jury, made up of ordinary citizens (i.e. ordinary clients), found that the lawyer had acted improperly and breached the duty to his clients.
It isn’t enough to do a ‘good job’ for your clients or to get them a ‘fair settlement.’ Ultimately, it is the client’s decision whether or not to settle or to pursue a claim, and whether they think that the settlement is reasonable.
You can be the most technically competent lawyer in the world, but if you don’t communicate with your clients and provide them with the information they think is important, you’re taking a risk. “Not deliberately lying” to a client doesn’t mean that you’ve acted ethically or responsibly – or that you’re a good lawyer.