The Legal Consumer Bill of Rights Project was launched to educate policy makers, the media and the public about the rights of legal consumers. This project seeks to promote increased accountability in the legal profession.
Each year, Americans file 100,000 disciplinary complaints, which allege that their attorney has charged excessive fees, neglected their case, lied, misrepresented evidence, or committed other misconduct. Still, many more consumers do not know what to do when an attorney has victimized them.
To that end, HALT has developed model legislation that requires attorneys to include the Legal Consumers Bill of Rights in their contracts and retainer agreements. Similar protections have already been adopted in Illinois and New York. HALT's Legal Consumers Bill of Rights spells out four basic rights that every American citizen should expect from the civil justice system --
- the right to control your own legal affairs
- the right to affordable legal services
- the right to competent legal representation
- the right to an accessible and accountable legal system
HALT believes that responsible public officials and consumer advocates should work together to assure that these basic rights are extended to our citizens.
Click here to read HALT's pamphlet "Before you hire a lawyer, know your rights," which explains in plain language what you should expect when you hire an attorney.
