What Are Examples of an Attorney Practicing Deception?
Posted November 16th, 2022.
Categories: Legal Malpractice.
If you hired an attorney to take on your legal case, then they owed you a duty of care. And if they breached that duty of care by deceiving you, then you likely lost your case or otherwise sustained serious damages. When this happens, you have a right to file a legal malpractice claim against your negligent attorney. Read on to discover examples of how your attorney may have practiced deception and how a seasoned New Jersey legal malpractice attorney at The Law Offices of Mark S. Guralnick can stand by you throughout.
In what ways can an attorney practice deception?
Notably, some acts of deception are more obvious than others. A form of deception that is, unfortunately, commonly seen with attorneys is billing the incorrect amount for attorney fees and other legal fees. If your attorney does not send you itemized bills with the number of hours they worked and their hourly rate, then this must raise suspicion for you that you are being overcharged with excessive fees. They may also be misusing your money for things unrelated to your case. Or, they may have told you that you owe more money than you initially agreed upon or they are otherwise soliciting money from you illegally.
Another common form of deception is if your attorney takes on your case while knowing that they have an interest that does not coincide with your best interest. For example, if they have a financial, business, property, or otherwise personal interest that is not aligned with you succeeding in your case, then they must disclose this with you before proceeding any further. They may also actively go against your best interests, which can also be seen as a breach of fiduciary duty.
Additionally, your attorney is required to be transparent about their intentions with every move they make in your case. So, if they make a false statement of intention, this can be seen as deception and also as fraud.
More examples of how your attorney may have practiced deception read as follows:
- Your attorney may have failed to show up when they were expected to (i.e., at your court hearing).
- Your attorney lied to you about the happenings of your case.
- Your attorney lied about what the outcome of your case was going to be and how they were going to execute this.
- Your attorney lied about the services they were going to provide for you.
- Your attorney participated in criminal behavior during the happenings of your case.
- Your attorney participated in selling or procuring property during the happening of your case as part of their unethical plan.
If any of the above scenarios are relevant to you, then you must pick up the phone and talk with one of our competent attorneys today. The sooner you take action, the better.
