Real Estate Lawyers

     If you have ever purchased or sold a home you may worked with a lawyer.  Many individuals do not, but it is always a good idea to procure the services of an attorney because both the seller and the buyer have different interests in the transaction.

     Imagine going to a lawyer for counsel on the sale of your home and the firm helps you in obtaining the best deal with a buyer.  You sell the home and purchase another with those proceeds.  Then, seemingly out of the blue, you get mail demanding payment for the mortgage on your previous home, which, to your knowledge, had already been sold.  This unfortunate story happened to Kimberly Drosos or Norwalk, Connecticut.  At the time the article was written in the New York Times (which you can find here), Drosos was fighting to get her old house paid off.  The firm she hired to aid in the real estate transaction claims poor bookkeeping was at fault but the attorneys on the case were charged with first-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit larceny.  At a subsequent hearing, which neither the attorneys nor Drosos attended, the Superior Court of Connecticut denied summary judgment for Drosos because in her brief she failed to establish that she had a relationship with the defendants and that their negligence proximately resulted in damages.  The court suggested Drosos appeal and more clearly state the grounds on which her complaint was based.  The cite for this decision is:  2006 Conn. Super. LEXIS 3446.  At this time, Drosos has not appealed.

     Even if the attorneys did not act out of malice, is their failure to pay off Drosos’ mortgage negligence?  I tend to think so.  The attornys failed to perform competently and complete the job that Drosos expected them to do.  Of course there are legal technicalities to overcome in this conclusion but in a similar situation, we would all expect our attorneys to finalize the sale.

     Paralegals!  Make sure you and your office are organized!  Help set up systems so that well-meaning legal professionals do not hurt clients in such grievous ways.

This blog is prepared by a paralegal student as a class project, without compensation. The content of this blog contains my opinion, and is offered for personal interest without warranty of any kind. Comments posted by others on this blog are the responsibility of the posters of those messages. The reader is solely responsible for verifying the content of this blog and any linked information. Content, sources, information, and links will most likely change over time. The content of this blog may not be construed as legal, medical, business, or personal advice.

Week of 9/26

Attorney and paralegal misconduct

Unauthorized practice of law.

Padding client bills.

Failure to act competently.

Improperly influence a government official.

Engage in dishonest conduct.

These are just a few ways in which lawyers or paralegals can misbehave within their professions.  As in any field, there are individuals who perform with the utmost honesty and integrity, and others who give the profession a poor name.  In this blog, we will examine those attorneys who have stepped over to the metaphorical dark side.  We must also remember, though that each of us may be tempted at some point in our careers to act unethically, or may be put in a position in which we have to remind a co-worker or boss of their ethical duties.

So what makes an attorney or paralegal go bad (or make an ethical mistake)?  For some it may be a long time coming.  For others it was moment of poor judgment.  For still others it might be the temptation of money or power.

One Ohio attorney was indefinitely suspended form the practice of law by the Ohio Supreme Court for transferring money from an estate for which he was the executor.  In a series of eight checks he transferred nearly $10,000 into a personal account.  For that crime, he lost the ability to work in his career until all the money was returned and his reinstatement was approved.  Sign in to Lexis to find the case here.

While the power of money is strong, the loss of one’s profession and respect in that career is much more valuable.

This blog is prepared by a paralegal student as a class project, without compensation. The content of this blog contains my opinion, and is offered for personal interest without warranty of any kind. Comments posted by others on this blog are the responsibility of the posters of those messages. The reader is solely responsible for verifying the content of this blog and any linked information. Content, sources, information, and links will most likely change over time. The content of this blog may not be construed as legal, medical, business, or personal advice.