Melrose Law stands beside victims in North Carolina whose lawyers have cost them financially due to a conflict of interest. A lawyer who allows interests other than those of the client to affect the outcome of a legal claim is committing legal malpractice. That lawyer can absolutely be held responsible.
We give clients a second chance to win the support they were counting on to recover from an accident or an act of financial impropriety.
We aggressively litigate against attorneys who acted on your behalf while having a conflict of interest in your case. Contact Melrose Law of North Carolina for a free case review to go over your options. It’s a confidential, no-obligation path to finding out how to hold your former attorney fully liable for mishandling your case.
What Represents a Conflict of Interest for a Lawyer?
A conflict of interest in a legal case arises when a lawyer has divided loyalties or could have divided loyalties in the case. A lawyer should only be acting in the best interest of the client. However, when a conflict of interest exists, a lawyer may be tempted to act in their own interests or the interests of a third party.
That third-party may be a former client of the lawyer, or anyone the lawyer has a personal or professional relationship with. A conflict may be in play if the lawyer has a personal relationship with the defendant, a family member of the defendant, or the opposing party’s legal team.
Lawyers in this position will deal with an internal conflict, even if the situation wasn’t created intentionally. It can be considered legal malpractice, even if there’s only the appearance of impropriety.
Unfortunately, this conflict of interest can greatly affect the outcome of a case. The size of a settlement check could be affected if a lawyer isn’t as aggressive as normal due to mixed feelings. A claim may get tossed out after an attorney didn’t fully prepare for a case they were conflicted over. This malpractice could affect the support a victim needs now and in the future to fully recover.
We’ll go over some of the types of “conflict of interest” issues that can arise in any case, and how they can affect the outcome of your case.
What Happens When a Lawyer Represents More than One Client in a Case?
This conflict arises when a lawyer is representing more than one client for the same case or even a different case. The clients may even be on the same side, but in some instances, there comes a time when decisions will favor one client and not the other.
It may arise when accepting a settlement offer meets all the needs of one client but not the needs of a second client.
The issue may involve the lawyer’s time and resources. If the majority of research and money is spent on one client, it may leave too little in resources to properly build another client’s case.
In some cases, these concerns can be addressed with informed consent. The multiple clients are asked to sign a consent form acknowledging that they know about the potential conflict of interest in representing more than one party. However, these documents don’t automatically excuse law firms from all issues of conflict that may arise in the aftermath.
What Happens if My Lawyer Is Representing Me Against a Former Client?
This is another form of a legal conflict of interest. The representation of one client may have ended, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t affect the next case. This type of conflict usually arises when it’s a lawsuit over the same issue or a related issue to a past case.
A lawyer would need to either withdraw from the case or proceed with a written informed consent document from the new client. This document means the new client knows the risks of going up against someone the lawyer had represented previously.
In some cases, lawyers don’t take the proper steps to ensure their clients the best chance at securing a case win and earning what they need to recover. Melrose Law would be filing a lawsuit against the lawyer in question and seeking whatever damages the victim should have received from the law firm.
What Happens If My Lawyer has a Business Relationship with Another Party in My Case?
A lawyer would need to disclose this information immediately. Then, if it was lawful for the attorney to continue representing you, you’d likely have to sign an informed consent document to keep the lawyer. In some cases, the lawyer would simply need to withdraw from the case.
Of course, lawyers don’t always disclose their ties in cases. They can proceed without mentioning a business tie and either lose the case or win a settlement for you. But questions might arise in either case. If the relationship is uncovered, you would be right to wonder if the lawyer did enough to keep the claim from being thrown out. If the case were successful, there would likely still be questions over whether the lawyer could have secured a bigger settlement check or judgment by fighting harder and being more prepared.
The question of whether the lawyer’s business interest gained anything due to the outcome would be raised. Melrose Law would fully investigate the business connection and sue to get any lost benefits back for you. In some cases, we could relitigate your claim to make sure a fair outcome was reached this time.
What Can Be Done If My Lawyer Has a Relationship with a Witness?
A lawyer’s relationship with anyone involved with your case can affect the outcome. If you feel your case wasn’t as successful due to your attorney’s relationship with a witness, you can file a lawsuit and recover anything lost from the law firm itself.
Lawyers must disclose any present or past relationship with a witness. The nature of the relationship would determine if the lawyer was allowed to remain on the case. Unfortunately, the damage can already be done.
This relationship can affect the testimony a witness gives and even how much of the testimony an attorney releases. The lawyer may want to protect the witness, even if it hurts a client’s case.
If a lawyer didn’t act in the complete best interest of a client, Melrose Law would gather the evidence necessary to show how this conflict of interest affected the outcome of the case.
How Can a North Carolina Lawyer’s Conflict of Interest Affect My Case?
Victims turn to law firms for help in what is often a very difficult time in their lives. They should feel that even if no one believes in their case or cares about what happened to them, a lawyer is someone they can count on completely.
A lawyer’s misconduct, such as a connection to someone else involved in the case, can lead to a case being thrown out. It can result in a smaller settlement for those trying to recover physically and/or financially.
These are just a few of the negative effects an attorney’s conflict of interest can have on a client’s lawsuit:
- A rejected case
- A diminished settlement or judgment in court
- Questionable legal guidance for the client
- Missed deadlines
- Broken confidentiality
- Unnecessary delays
- Contributing to an overall lack of trust in the legal system
- A lawyer’s sudden disqualification from a case
This last point can crater a victim’s recovery efforts. A victim can find a new lawyer and move forward with the case. However, this delay can be devastating for victims who may be facing multiplying medical bills and lost income at work.
They may have to wait months or years for a settlement or verdict. Meanwhile, they are falling behind on normal monthly bills like rent and a mortgage, car payments, and utility bills.
Fortunately, North Carolina Law holds lawyers to certain standards. When attorneys fail to put the client’s interests first, they can be responsible for the support that’s lost in a failed or reduced case.
Fees For Legal Malpractice Cases
The good news is that when working with Melrose Law for a legal malpractice case, you don’t have to worry about having the money to hire a second lawyer. We work on a contingency basis. This means that we don’t get paid unless we win compensation from your former lawyer. Then, you still don’t have to worry about finding money to pay an attorney’s fee. Our fee is paid out of the money the law firm’s malpractice insurance provider must hand over to you.
Cutting ties with a negligent lawyer and suing a legal professional is understandably intimidating. It’s a good idea to have a reputable lawyer on your side this time. Melrose Law wants to be a safeguard for clients who have had their trust abused.
Reach out to us for a free consultation. It’s a confidential opportunity to speak to a real North Carolina Legal Malpractice Lawyer about whether you should file a lawsuit against a former attorney. There’s no obligation, and this meeting is completely confidential. We represent clients in the Asheville area and across North Carolina.
