New Jersey Lawyers for Conflicts of Interest

Top-Rated Legal Malpractice Lawyers Represent Clients Harmed by Conflicts of Interest Throughout New Jersey

Lawyers in New Jersey owe their clients a duty of loyalty.  This means many things, but above all, it means that the lawyer must promise to act in the client’s best interests.  When the lawyer’s outside interests conflict with the client’s, the lawyer may be improperly motivated to use the position of trust in a way that hurts the client while benefiting the lawyer.  This is a type of legal malpractice under New Jersey law.

At Team Law, our legal malpractice lawyers have fought to get justice for clients harmed because of their lawyer’s unethical behavior for decades.  We know that it can be difficult to trust another lawyer. We take pride in our reputation for excellent legal services—and we have already helped our New Jersey clients recover over $650 million in compensation.

As lawyers, we made promises to act in our clients’ best interests before we even began practicing law in New Jersey—and we take those promises seriously.  If you have suffered harm because of your lawyer’s failure to disclose conflicts of interests, our lawyers are here to protect your rights. 

Failure to disclose a conflict of interest and continuing representation is usually an ethics violation under New Jersey law.  If you were harmed because of the conflicted representation, you may have the right to a variety of remedies, including financial compensation.  To learn more about protecting your rights, call or contact our legal malpractice lawyers to schedule a free case review.

Examples of Conflicts of Interest That May Constitute Legal Malpractice in New Jersey

In some cases, a lawyer may agree to represent a client before discovering a conflict of interest.  In that case, the lawyer must disclose the conflict and the potential risks associated with the conflict as soon as possible.  Often, the conflicted lawyer will refer you to another reputable lawyer. 

American Bar Association rules state that loyalty and independent judgment are essential elements in the lawyer-client relationship.  Any type of conflict that might impact the lawyer’s ability to advocate zealously to protect the client’s interests can be a breach of the lawyer’s duties.  Your lawyer might be financially responsible for conflicts of interest involving:

• Competing client interests.  When a lawyer takes on clients with competing interests, that lawyer might take steps that negatively impact the interests of one client while favoring the other.  This may be an actionable conflict of interest.

• Client v. personal interests.  In other cases, the lawyer may discover—through use of the client’s personal information—that the client’s best interests conflict with the lawyer’s own personal or business interests.  Continuing to represent the client could be malpractice if the client is harmed.

• Financial interest in the outcome.  If the lawyer has any type of financial interest in the outcome of the case that conflicts with the client’s interests, it could potentially create a conflict of interest.

• Settlement pressure.  Some lawyers pressure their clients to settle early if they realize that their attorneys’ fees will be lower than anticipated.  This is a conflict of interest between the lawyer’s own personal finances and what is in the client’s best interests.

• Duties to former clients.  A lawyer is also prohibited from using the information learned during representation of a client in the past for the benefit of current clients.  In other words, the lawyer’s duty of loyalty continues even after a client’s case has been resolved.

The lawyer’s position does not have to be directly adverse to the client’s in order for a conflict of interest to arise.  For example, if the lawyer represents multiple partners in a business venture, that could create a conflict even though the business partners are on the same side.  The lawyer may have a problem advocating solely for one client because the lawyer also has duties to the others.

Respected New Jersey Lawyers Fight to Protect the Rights of Clients Harmed by Lawyer’s Conflict of Interests

At Team Law, we respect our clients’ right to privacy.  Your lawyer has a legal duty to keep the information you share confidential.  In many cases involving conflicts of interests, it also comes to light that the lawyer shared information you entrusted to your lawyer in confidence.  If you suffered financial harm as a result, you may have the right to compensation. 

You may have a variety of legal remedies if you were harmed by your lawyer’s conflicted representation, including financial reimbursement and the right to report your lawyer’s ethical violations to the New Jersey bar association.  To establish your rights, our lawyers will:

• Investigate to gain evidence about the lawyer’s conflicts of interest and whether the client has any past history of ethical violations,

• Analyze the situation to compare the results of your case under your lawyer’s conflicted representation versus the potential results absent the conflict,

• Determine whether any disclosure and consent were sufficient under the circumstances,

• Negotiate to protect your interests with the lawyer’s malpractice insurance company and advocate for your rights at trial if necessary.

Schedule a Free Case Review with the Experienced New Jersey Legal Malpractice Lawyers at Team Law Today

To effectively represent a client, a lawyer cannot have competing interests that impact how the lawyer provides that representation.  If you were harmed—or believe you may have been harmed—because of your lawyer’s conflicts of interest, schedule a free case review with our New Jersey legal malpractice lawyers to tell us what happened. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Legal Malpractice Claims Based on Conflicts of Interest Claims in New Jersey