Attorneys must tell clients the truth to avoid costly civil litigation mistakes

• Attorneys have a duty to advise clients honestly, even when the client is in the wrong.
• Ignoring clear evidence and pursuing weak cases leads to unnecessary costs and delays.
• Ethical legal practice requires prioritising integrity and client interests over profit.

If you are an attorney dealing with a civil matter and you know your client is in the wrong, it is essential to communicate that to them. It can save everyone time and money.

I often think about a case that involved a boutique law firm representing a body corporate. They failed to inform their client that they were in the wrong regarding a boundary dispute within a sectional title scheme. Despite receiving professional opinions from three surveyors, they chose to ignore the evidence and allowed the matter to escalate to the High Court. Their strategy involved delay tactics, simply denying evidence, and hoping to frustrate the other party.

When it came time to appear before the judge, the attorney from the boutique firm pleaded with the opposing party to settle, even admitting that their submissions to the Court were embarrassing. Ultimately, they had to accept the boundary and pay costs.

However, the situation worsened when they refused to pay the costs, wasting additional body corporate funds to challenge the bill of costs before the taxing master, only to receive a similar outcome. Did they pay? No.

This led to a warrant of execution against the body corporate and a garnishee order, with Sheriff’s costs added. It took over a year for the body corporate to finally settle the payment to the other party, including Sheriff’s fees and interest.

Integrity as a professional obligation

Poor legal advice leads to poor outcomes for the party that is ill-advised. A litigation strategy that ignores evidence and pursues delay for its own sake not only prejudices the opposing party, but it also directly harms the client who bears the financial burden of those decisions. In this case, the body corporate paid far more than it would have had it been properly advised at the outset.

If you are an attorney, you should aim to reduce your client’s costs, not attempt to make a quick profit from a client you know is in the wrong in a civil matter. Being honest and realistic with clients remains one of the key pillars of integrity in the legal profession. Advising a client to settle when the facts are against them is not a weakness; it is sound and ethical legal practice.

Conviction.co.za

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