I am often asked to take over cases from major L.A.-based firms. Far too often, I uncover rampant billing abuses and outright fraud committed by the client’s former lawyers. It has become so common that I decided to draft this article to better educate the public.
To be clear, this article is not intended to solicit cases: this firm does not specialize in legal malpractice (there is rarely enough money involved in such cases to justify hiring an expensive lawyer). The aim is to educate others on how to protect themselves from bad lawyers. As they say, “one bad apple spoils the bunch”; thus, all lawyers benefit when clients hold the bad apples accountable.
This chart identifies the most common abuses committed by lawyers as well as remedies for holding them accountable. A more detailed discussion follows.