Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Conflict of Interests Can Lead to Legal Malpractice

The legal field has become more competitive and aggressive in recent years and with more and more potential clients calling in to discuss cases, it is easy to see how things might fall through the cracks. When taking on new clients, lawyers should be careful ensure that they are not taking on a new client that poses a conflict of interests with either their personal interests or their professional interests.

A good way to avoid running into a problem with a conflict of interests is to set up a system whereby new clients can be cross checked against previous and/or existing clients. If after a search such as this is conducted and a red flag comes up, the lawyer can turn the potential new client away or have the potential new client give their written consent of representation, so long as the representation does not involve a claim by one client against another client.

Lawyers have a duty to represent their clients diligently and when a conflict of interests arises and is not dealt with properly, there is exposure for a legal malpractice claim. If your lawyer failed to disclose a conflict of interests in your case, click here to contact one of our experienced legal malpractice lawyers today.

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