Bar associations in some states are fighting this trend, however, claiming that lawyers are exempt from these statutes and that the bar, not the legislature, has the inherent right to regulate and discipline attorneys.

At issue in a recent case, Cripe v. Leiter in which HALT filed an amicus curiae brief, was whether a client could sue her attorney under Illinois' Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practice Act for submitting fraudulent bills. The lawyer in Cripe v. Leiter was accused of overbilling his client by $40,000. HALT argued that a lawyer who overbills a client is committing fraud, not practicing law. Even though an appellate court held that the lawyer's actions were subject to the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, the state's supreme court reversed the decision and rewrote the law to expressly exempt lawyers from the state's consumer fraud statute.

If legal consumers are to have a clear and effective means of redressing wrongs done to them by unscrupulous attorneys, they must be permitted to sue their lawyers for fraud. Lawyers who dishonor their profession through fraudulent misconduct in business dealings with their clients should be covered by the same consumer protection laws that apply to any other frauds.