Lawyers are bound by ethical rules and standards, both written and unwritten. Sometimes lawyers forget that they are in a fiduciary relationship with their clients which requires them to act with the highest level of trust and integrity known in the law. They can act greedily and unethically without regard to their client’s best interest. Often, violations of ethical rules involve a conflict of interest for the lawyer. Conflicts of interest arise in many different kinds of circumstances but lawyer conflicts usually have a basic dilemma: The lawyer’s advice may not be truly independent, because the lawyer is either representing two or more sides in a case or a transaction, or the lawyer’s interest is in competition with the client’s best interest. Violations of ethical rules may give rise to actions against lawyers, separate from billing abuses or malpractice. But not all conflicts give rise to recoverable damages. The client still has to prove that they were damaged as a result of the conflict and the advice the lawyer gave, or didn’t give.
Gwire Law Offices also provides expert witness and mediation services in legal fee disputes and legal malpractice cases. We have also been engaged to assist clients and general counsel in locating and retaining attorneys for specific cases, and have been hired to monitor on-going litigation for cost control.
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