Over at The Matlock Blog, Shawn Matlock shares his frustrations over losing a potential client to an unethical law firm that promised the potential client that it would get the charges dismissed. Check out Shawn’s post.
The lesson in Shawn’s post can be summarized as follows: run away from attorneys who promise results.
Rule 7.1(b) of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct states that a lawyer must not make a communication that “is likely to create an unjustified expectation about results the lawyer can achieve . . . .”
Until lawyers can see into the future with 100 percent accuracy, a promise that a case will be dismissed creates an unjustified expectation as contemplated by Rule 7.1(b).
