Been cheated by your lawyer? Here’s what to do

It’s hard to put your trust in people, especially when you have had an experience with a friend or family member who broke your trust. You feel hurt. You feel cheated. You feel betrayed.

Sadly, this does not only happen in our personal lives, but also when dealing with professionals. Sometimes the very people who are supposed to help you can actually do the opposite. People like your lawyer, who you trusted to deal with your legal matter honestly, fairly and in your best interests. But instead, he or she has taken the money that was supposed to be yours.

This can leave you feeling helpless. You don’t know the first thing about law, so how can you fight your lawyer, who knows everything about South African law?

The Legal Practitioners Fidelity Fund is on your side

This is precisely why the Legal Practitioners Fidelity Fund (LPFF) was established. The LPFF fights for your rights when you have been cheated by your lawyer. Your lawyer also has to stick to the rules of the legal profession, and the LPFF was created to ensure this happens. Your lawyer is not above the law.

The LPFF has a proud history of upholding the rights of the man on the street and protecting them against the few corrupt lawyers who can give the whole legal profession a bad name. Since 1941, the LPFF has been the champion of justice for people who have lost money because of their lawyer.

When can the LPFF help you?

Here are some of the situations where you might need someone from the LPFF to assist you:

• Where someone has passed away and left you something valuable in their will, but your lawyer has taken it
• Where you have won a claim against the Road Accident Fund, but your lawyer hasn’t given you the money
• Where your lawyer is supposed to help you to register the transfer of your property (e.g. land, house, flat), but has instead taken some of the profits

How to submit a claim against your lawyer

1. You must give notice of the claim to the Legal Practice Council (LPC) of the province where your lawyer practices and to the Fund, within a period of three months after you became aware of the theft.
2. Your claim must be submitted in the form of an affidavit, which you can get at any police station. An affidavit is a written, sworn statement where you explain what happened with your lawyer. It can be used as evidence in court. This affidavit helps you prove your claim to the fund and also helps you to start a criminal investigation against your lawyer.
3. Your lawyer’s office file on your case must be submitted with your affidavit.
4. You must give the LPFF all of your proof within six months of telling them about your claim. This will include documents like your bank statements and receipts from your lawyer.

Situations not dealt with by the LPFF

It’s important to know, however, that the LPFF can’t get you your money back if:

• Your lawyer has been negligent (in this case, you should go to the Legal Practitioners Insurance Indemnity Fund – LPIIF)
• You have done business transactions with a lawyer
• You have given money to a lawyer for investment purposes
• You have given a loan to a lawyer

What happens to your lawyer when your documents prove he or she has taken your money?

If you win your case against your lawyer, then he or she is usually struck from the roll, which means that they aren’t allowed to practice law anymore. You can also lay a criminal charge against your lawyer, where they might be fined or sent to jail if found guilty.

How common is the theft of money or property by attorneys?

In 2017, the LPFF dealt with 891 claims against lawyers. The total value of these claims was below 0.5% of the total estimated money or property.

For more information on how the LPFF can help you, go to http://www.fidfund.co.za/. You can also call the LPFF’s anonymous Trustline on 0800 20 2036 or email them at trustline@tip-offs.com