The lawyer instituted massive changes to the office practices. Based in part on the improvements made to the office practices, the attorney was placed on private supervised probation for two years. Saying yes when the answer should be no . Feeling sorry for a client is not a good basis on which to undertake representation. When the client tells you that one or two or three other lawyers have refused the case, alarms should be going off.
Most lawyers can t make miracles happen.
In addition, while most lawyers will not knowingly take on a client whose case is a sure loser, inadequate preliminary screening procedures for clients can result in more than a lawyer s fair share of losers. These are only a few of the questions that need be answered before deciding to undertake the representation. Careful screening is even more important for the inexperienced lawyer, who may not have the knowledge to readily assess the situation. Certainly all lawyers feel pressure to bring in clients, but it is axiomatic that if the client has no case, undertaking the representation does not assist the client or the development of a successful practice. Whether the case was a loser from the beginning, or it just did not develop as expected, once the lawyer has exhausted reasonable efforts at factual development and legal research and concludes that the evidence or legal theory or fault simply isn t there, the client has to be informed.