How to Spot a Fake Lawyer
Is my lawyer a fraud?
Sadly, there is a growing issue regarding fake attorneys who are committing lawyer fraud either as individuals or as a business in a fake law firm.
People who are seeking legal representation in practice areas like immigration, disability, IRS issues, and personal injury are especially vulnerable to being scammed by a fake lawyer, so it’s important to identify some key traits of a fake law firm to avoid complications and unnecessary payment for your case!
What are some signs of a fake law firm?
Some signs that you’ve encountered a fake law firm are as follows:
Demanding large sums of money: Scammers often pressure you into paying many large, upfront payments, claiming it to be necessary for immediate legal services. Real and legitimate law firms usually request a reasonable retainer fee and explain their payment structure clearly to you.
Pressure to retain immediately: Scammers will commonly try to create a sense of urgency, insisting that you need to hire their services immediately to protect your rights. A real lawyer would recognize the value of making a properly informed decision and won’t rush you into retaining their services.
Emergency claims: Fraudulent law firms might claim that your situation is an emergency and that you must act right away to avoid certain consequences. It’s true that some legal matters may require prompt attention, but a real lawyer would be able to help you understand any urgent deadlines (such as needing to log official complaints against government entities within a time period before having the right to file a tort claim and sue them). Therefore, it is critical that you evaluate the credibility of such claims.
Watch out for phone scams from fake lawyers!
One common tactic for scammers is to imitate being an attorney that is representing an opposing party in a lawsuit. They may claim they are suing you or a loved one, and demand your personal information or immediate settlement payments. It is essential to remain calm, know how to identify these scams, and seek the necessary help.
The scammers may try many tactics to pressure you into providing personal information or making immediate payment. They could claim that failure to comply would result in severe consequences, but always remember to remain calm and to never provide personal or financial information over the phone. Hang up the phone and block any subsequent calls from the scammer.
If you are truly worried that there is an ongoing lawsuit being filed against you, contact the alleged law firm separately and directly with verifiable contact information such as through a trusted legal directory or on their website if it seems reputable and corroborated by sources like Google Maps, Yelp, and the State Bar Association’s website. Remember, a real lawyer will always provide proper documentation if there is a true legal matter that needs resolving.
How can I tell if I’m really being sued?
Legitimate lawyers do not serve complaints over the phone unlike fake lawyers who are attempting to defraud unsuspecting people. For a real lawsuit, the person would be served with a complaint via mail or in person.
One key step in identifying a fake lawyer phone scam is to ask for the name and bar number of the attorney handling the legal issue and verifying it with the State Bar Association in your local state. This information can be easily found online, helping you to quickly verify that you are speaking to a licensed attorney.
How do I tell a fake lawyer from a real one?
Even having a physical office location in a nice area or a seemingly credible website does not guarantee that you are speaking to a truly licensed attorney. Renting temporary or virtual office space is a common tactic for scammers in general. So here’s what you can do to make sure you are speaking to a real attorney, including us here at Win Nguyen Law!
Always ask for the full name of the attorney, and make sure it matches the information on record with your State’s Bar Association. if the attorney has a common name, ask for the attorney’s state bar number.
Each state in America has its own Bar Association which will regulate the licensing and admission of lawyers in the state. State Bars also operate websites that contain directories for all admitted lawyers.
For example, here is the Attorney Search page for the State Bar of California, where you can search for our principal attorney Jimmy Thinh Nguyen and verify his license to practice law: http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/MemberSearch/QuickSearch.
You can also call your State Bar directly and ask to verify if someone has a law license; this will apply to all lawyers, including plaintiff lawyers like personal injury attorneys or criminal defense attorneys.
Once you have reviewed the attorney’s profile on the State Bar, be sure to verify other information regarding your hired lawyer. For example, does the office address and phone number match between your hired attorney and the profile of the attorney on the State Bar’s records? The State Bar profile will also indicate what year they joined the Bar, which can provide a rough estimate for your attorney’s age.
Why are fake lawyers bad? Well…
In many areas, such as Southern California, there is a growing crisis for fake law offices. You could be next!
This is especially true for law offices situated in cities with large immigrant populations such as Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco, San Diego, Westminster, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Cypress, or other cities in Los Angeles County, Orange County, and San Diego County.
Many law firms with physical locations are fake and targeting ethnic minority Americans, such as Columbian-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Vietnamese-Americans, Chinese-Americans, Korean-Americans, and more who may lack proficiency in the English language. This lack of extreme mastery in the English language leaves immigrant families who are pursuing the American Dream vulnerable to being scammed by predatory fraudulent businesses such as fake law firms.
This is especially important for cases regarding personal injury and disabilities:
Many fraudulent businesses may market themselves as able to pursue litigation with high rates of success, but in reality, they often pressure their clients to immediately take the first settlement offered by insurance companies.
Without a proper license to practice law, the fake attorneys representing the clients cannot pursue litigation and take any defendants to trial. This means that if you hire a fake lawyer, you have no right to demand a higher settlement or sue.
Without any power to go to trial, insurance companies have zero incentive to provide you proper compensation for your injuries and property damage; therefore accepting their first settlement offer often doesn’t even cover a fraction of the resulting expenses to properly help you recover from your injuries.
Fake law firms cannot even legally refer you to a truly reputable lawyer. Typically, an attorney can claim some nominal amount of compensation earned by the litigating attorney if they refer a client of theirs to a different law firm.
However, it is illegal for non-attorneys to claim this referral compensation, so even if a fake law firm wanted to do the right thing and refer your case, they will not! Referral itself constitutes a fraudulent and unauthorized activity within the realm of legal practice.
Therefore, if you are an ethnic minority or have loved ones that are ethnic-minorities such as Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Mexican, Colombian, Guatemalan, Filipino, or others, it is vital for you to stay vigilant and notify the authorities for fake law offices that you notice in your area. It will help your neighborhood stay safe and free of predatory scams!
It is important to note that a fake law office is different from a document preparation assistance office. Document preparers do not falsely advertise that they are capable of practicing law or provide any genuine legal advice and services beyond helping you to file your own legal documents.
Hiring the services of a document preparer is typically understood to be at your own risk and discretion. Below are some risks that hiring a document preparer may pose instead of hiring a real and experienced lawyer:
Are there any risks to hiring a document preparation assistance office?
Document preparation assistance offices are becoming increasingly prevalent over the last few years, as they offer people a convenient means of preparing legal documents at a lower cost than hiring an attorney. However, they carry many potential risks and have limits as to their abilities to help people resolve issues.
The main problem with hiring a document preparer is that they are unable to provide legal advice. They can assist in typing up paperwork, but are not authorized to offer legal guidance or interpreting laws. This is particularly troublesome if you have a complicated legal matter that requires expert advice.
Without the input of a licensed attorney, you may leave yourself vulnerable to making critical errors and failing to address important legal considerations, leading to serious consequences.
There is also an additional risk of incomplete or incorrect filings when you hire a document preparation assistance office instead of a lawyer. Document preparers may lack the knowledge or experience needed to accurately file legal forms, which can cause mistakes that delay your process or even make your documents invalid. From there, you’re subject to a substantial risk for further complications such as missing deadlines, losing your legal rights, or entering unnecessary litigation.
Often, document preparers do not possess the comprehensive knowledge of local laws and regulations in your area. This is important because every jurisdiction differs in its specific requirements and procedures regarding the law, and without the right experience, document preparers may generate incomplete or non-compliant filings with your city and local officials. This can leave you open to even more potential risks and complications for your case.
Finally, document preparers are not bound by the same ethical and professional obligations that attorneys are held to, as per their license granted by the State Bar. Thus, you may face larger difficulties in holding a document preparer accountable for errors or negligence in their service than you would for holding a licensed attorney accountable.
What to do if you hired a FAKE lawyer!
First, gather as much evidence as possible to establish that you hired the fake attorney under the pretense they were licensed and able to give legal advice. Some examples include:
Copies of any communications with them regarding your case (such as emails, phone calls, texts, or bookings of appointments)
Copies of any legal documents or other communications they drafted or filed on your behalf
Any payments you gave them, or demands for payments they sent you.
If the fraudulent attorney is impersonating a real law firm or lawyer, the contact information and any other identifying details for both your fake lawyer as well as the real lawyer.
Afterwards, contact the proper authorities.
File a police report with your local law enforcement and with federal authorities, such as the US Postal Inspection Service and Federal Trade Commission, if fraud is evident.
File a formal Nonattorney Unauthorized Practice of Law Complaint with your State’s Bar Association.
For an example, here is a link to the State Bar of California’s official guide on how to do so: Nonattorney Unauthorized Practice of Law Complaint (ca.gov)
Finally, contact a REAL lawyer for a free consultation to evaluate your case. If you decide to sue the fraudulent attorney in court, you may be entitled to compensation as a victim of fraud.
Fraud deals with concealment of a material fact known to the defendant, with the specific intent to deprive a victim of their money, property, or act in a way to cause harm to the victim.
