There are many potential ways that legal malpractice can take place, and one of them is when the attorney has a conflict of interest. They should always be putting their client’s best interests first. However, if there is a conflict in this area, it may raise questions about the legal representation that the client received.
In some cases, a client may even believe that they lost a case – or received an unfavorable outcome – when they should have been successful. They believe that the lawyer’s negligence or mistakes – or the conflict of interest – caused them to lose a winnable case. In these situations, that client may actually be able to take legal action against their former lawyer.
How could this happen?
One example of this is when the lawyer is directly involved. Say that someone is looking to purchase a piece of real estate. They hire a lawyer to help them with the process, but they get outbid by another buyer. As it turns out, the other buyer is their own lawyer, who also put an offer in on the same property.
In other cases, the connection may be a bit more remote, but still problematic. For example, say that a client wants to sue a store where they were injured. They lose the case and are not given a settlement by the store owner. They discover that that store owner is actually related to their lawyer through marriage. Was the lawyer actually working in their client’s best interests or not?
A conflict of interest can create some very complex legal situations and disputes. Those involved must be well aware of their legal options.
