![]() ![]() The second is the claim that the lawyer aided the client, or even caused the client, to breach a fiduciary duty to the third party. The first is the claim that the lawyer aided the client in committing a tort (usually fraud) on the third party. There are two main contexts in which a lawyer can be caught up in an in-concert liability claim based upon legal services provided to a client. How are these claims manifested in a lawyer’s representation of a client? However, as explained below, lawyers who focus only on their client’s needs, desires, and expectations, without looking at the consequences of what is being accomplished, and in particular, how those services or that conduct affects third parties, can step into a mine field of liability from these in-concert liability claims. This may seem like a difficult set of elements to establish against a lawyer who is simply providing typical legal services to a client. When brought against lawyers, these in-concert liability claims, in most jurisdictions, involve the following elements: (1) a duty owed by the client to a third party (2) that the lawyer is aware of the duty owed by the client to the third party (3) that the client breaches that duty and/or commits a tort against that third party (4) that the lawyer is aware of the breach and/or tort committed by the client (5) that the lawyer assists the client in committing the tort and/or breach and (6) that the third party suffers some damage. In practice, this often involves a claim that the lawyer helped the client either commit a fraud on a third party or breach some duty (usually a fiduciary duty) to a third party. ![]() In the civil context, they lead to liability for those who help other actors or a main actor (usually for lawyers it is the client) to commit some tort against a third party. ![]() #Defense attorney conspire against client how toIn this article, I will discuss the nature of in-concert liability claims, how to spot situations that can expose a lawyer to these claims, what defenses are available to lawyers who may by subject to this type of liability, and whether there is insurance coverage for such claims.Īiding and abetting and conspiracy claims find their roots in criminal law. There are a variety of ways that lawyers can be exposed to such claims, particularly if they are not thinking of this type of third-party exposure when they provide legal services to their clients. Together these causes of action are commonly referred to as “in-concert liability claims.” Two similar common law tort claims are used for this attack: civil aiding and abetting and civil conspiracy. More and more often lately, lawyers are being sued along with their clients, and sometimes instead of their clients, for aiding their clients in some venture which a third party believes amounts to a tort or a breach of a fiduciary duty. They think that so long as their representation of the client is negligence-free, no one is going to sue them based upon the legal work performed for that client. Lawyers generally think that their only liability risk comes from making mistakes in their representation of clients. The Risks Lawyers Face from Aiding and Abetting and Civil Conspiracy Claims ![]()
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