California residents who firmly believe that the legal assistance they have sought from a state attorney has been troublingly deficient might reasonably want to note a couple things.
First, it is not uncommon for clients in the state to sometimes feel that way. Even a brief scan of disciplinary proceedings against problem lawyers readily reveals that a high number of them have been derelict in their client duties.
Moreover, as a newspaper report chronicling recent disbarment cases notes, some attorneys are linked with a demonstrated pattern of recurrent wrongdoing.
And, second, a positive outcome can ensue for a client victimized by attorney negligence or bad-faith conduct. Many individuals across California who do take strong and purposeful action to address marked shortcomings in the legal representation they have received do secure meaningful recoveries.
Both those points are duly noted in disciplinary actions taken recently against a number of attorneys by the State Bar of California. The above-cited news article provides some material details relevant to the punishments imposed upon those lawyers.
Pointedly, they were all disbarred, which spells the most serious of all outcomes for a California attorney. Their ouster from legal practice in the state owed to many factors, including these:
- Allowing non-attorneys to file a lawsuit on behalf of a client
- Failure to reasonably cooperate with state officials in disciplinary proceedings
- Misusing client funds and recoveries for personal uses
- Unlawfully practicing in jurisdictions outside California
Sometimes it can seem like bar officials are slow to respond to attorney misconduct, as well as being too lenient with offenders.
There is ample empirical evidence to indicate, though, that strong and even permanent sanctions are handed down to problem lawyers.
And, importantly, they often do yield client recoveries.
Questions or concerns regarding attorney incompetence or misbehavior can be directed to a proven pro-consumers’ legal malpractice law firm.