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The perils of flying solo are evident in a new
study showing that a lack of support and managerial skills, rather
than built-in bias against independent attorneys, fuels the State
Bar's largely complaint-driven disciplinary system. More than 78
percent of respondents to bar prosecutions are sole practitioners and
small-firm lawyers, a number that seems disproportionate in light of
1995 American Bar Association statistics which showed 61.5 percent of
lawyers are employed at practices with five or fewer attorneys.
But the year-long study by independent consulting
firm Hilton Farnkopf & Hobson LLC counters a long-held suspicion
that the bar unfairly targets solo practitioners. A State Bar report
on the study's findings, made public in July, says small-scale
attorneys are more likely to attract investigation, prosecution and
discipline because clients lodge a disproportionate number of
complaints against them.
During the one-year study, 89 percent of
complaints to the bar concerned solos and firms with fewer than 10
attorneys. And when such complaints come in, no data is gathered on
the attorney's size or type of practice, more evidence the study
cited to support its contention that the bar is unbiased.
The study was conducted in response to
legislation requiring the bar to examine possible bias against solos
and small firm lawyers in its discipline system. It is the nation's
first independent, statistical study comparing discipline and law-firm
size.
The report suggests large-firm lawyers have the
corporate backing and resources that put them at a great advantage
over mom-and-pop practitioners, who often are overworked, experience
financial difficulties or lack support staff. These problems can lead
to missed deadlines, failure to communicate with clients, borrowing
against client trust accounts and other mismanagement, the report
suggested.
In addition, these practitioners - unlike their
large-firm counterparts - frequently do not cooperate with bar
investigations, which is itself a
violation of State Bar ethical rules. And when they do
cooperate, they often cannot provide the documentation needed to
defend themselves against allegations of misconduct or lack the money
to hire a lawyer of their own.
"In this day and age, we realize that sole
practitioners are operating under tremendous stress in a competitive
profession and economy," said Judy Johnson, the bar's executive
director.
"The bar is committed to providing support to
those attorneys who don't have ample resources that lawyers in
larger firms have at their fingertips," Johnson continued. "We
will continue to be responsive to public complaints, but at the same
time will continue to provide educational resources and assistance to
help solos in their practice." |
