Filing a suit isn't the only way a dissatisfied client can go after an attorney.

State consumer protection laws are the newest weapon of attorney destruction.

The burden of proof is less than what a malpractice suit requires, and the potential for monetary damages is greater, says JAMES C. TURNER, executive director of Help Abolish Legal Tyranny, a national legal reform advocacy group in Washington, D.C. HALT has 50,000 members nationwide.

Consumer protection laws are a force lo be reckoned with. As Turner puts it, they can "use the full force of civil penalties to make your victims whole and to punish you."

A NEW TREND ON THE RISE

Applying state consumer protection laws to legal services is a new approach, though its roots stem from a 23-year-old court decision.

In 1975, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down minimum fee schedules set by the Virginia Bar Association. In that decision, "the Court said lawyers are business people just like any other provider of service," Turner explains, and that opened the door for the application of state consumer protection statutes against attorneys.

Clients haven't used consumer protection statutes until recently, however. In fact, that protection has only been exercised in four states - Connecticut, Washington, Louisiana, and Texas. But according to Turner, the scope is broadening fast.

LAWYERS V. PLUMBERS

The consumer protection laws most commonly apply to bill padding. The theory is that there's no difference between an attorney who overbills "and a plumber who bills 20 hours but only worked three," Turner explains.

In Illinois, that's actually happening. An 82-year old widow with Alzheimer's disease is using the state law to seek action against a lawyer she claims grossly overcharged her.

The case has received wide publicity, and HALT sees it as indicative of a trend toward challenging attorney fees.

NO INTENT? NO PROBLEM

Consumer protection claims are easier to bring than claims of fraud or malpractice.

The reason is that they favor the consumer. They generally don't require clients to show that their attorneys overbilled them intentionally. "Clients only need to show that they were misled and suffered monetary damages as a result."

Malpractice or fraud, on the other hand, requires that the client show intent. "And that's a much higher hurdle to get over in a court room."

In addition, most malpractice laws require that the client also show that the attorney fell below the standards generally provided by practitioners in like circumstances. And the standards are "always changing" and therefore difficult to determine.

By contrast, the consumer protection laws are easily defined and don't change.

PUNITIVE DAMAGES TOO?

Consumer laws may even be able to increase the stakes in a claim, Turner says. Speculation is that they "may eventually be construed to authorize punitive damages against lawyers."

That means a client would be able to collect more than the out-of-pocket cost of the attorney's fees.

ACCURACY, ACCURACY, ACCURACY

The only way an attorney can answer to charges of consumer fraud is to keep accurate time and expense records. There have to be detailed descriptions of the work. "You have to be able to say what you did, not just that you worked."

Turner also recommends having "more than one set of eyes take a look at the bills." Billing mistakes happen, and with the consumer laws not requiring the intent of fraud, even an honest mistake can become the basis for a claim.

It's important to use good billing judgment. "If a young associate goes off on a tangent and researches cases in Arkansas when the litigation is in Tennessee, don't charge the client for that mistake."

And over all, use "the laugh test," he says. "Look at the bill and see if it's just too much for what the job really required."

TALK THE CLIENTS OUT OF IT

Another safeguard is to be clear about what's going to be charged.

Spell out the exact financial arrangements and what that amount covers and what it doesn't cover, and spell out those arrangements in writing at the outset of the representation.

And though it sounds unnecessary, Turner says, make it a policy to tell the clients to ask about their bills, "and don't make them feel intimidated about doing so."

One of the most frequent complaints his organization gets is that "the basic communication between lawyers and clients is terrible." He cites one case where a client tried 13 times in a two-week period to contact the attorney. That's the type of situation that leads to mistrust and, ultimately, to a consumer fraud complaint.