Remember on the 12th I wrote about being cautious with mortgage rescue companies? Well, you also need to be careful with attorney-based services or services with attorneys on staff.
Diane Karpman, an ethics attorney who writes for the California Bar Journal, has a great column in this month’s Journal. The article is geared towards lawyers. Specificially, she is writing about the fact that “Lawyers are being solicited by brokers and loan modification agents who want to create ‘new business models.'” Her conclusion is simple: lawyers cannot be in business with non-lawyers.
Of course, she is correct. But, what does this mean to consumers? When you hear of “attorney based solutions” or “attorneys on staff” or “we work with attorneys” you need to run, not walk, away. The attorney may be committing an ethical violation. And if the attorney is willing to do that, what does that say about the attorney’s ethics in working for you?
The safe bet: hire an attorney and only an attorney.