Laguna Niguel : Lawyer Group Assails Soliciting of Fire Cases
A national group of trial attorneys Saturday denounced attorneys who have reportedly been soliciting clients among the victims or relatives of victims in the New Year’s Eve fire at the Dupont Plaza Hotel in Puerto Rico.
The American Board of Trial Advocates board of directors voted unanimously Saturday to draft a statement condemning the practice during a quarterly board meeting held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Laguna Niguel.
In the statement, the group said it “deplores, as unprofessional and contrary to public interest, unsolicited contact by lawyers with victims of disaster.”
The group, whose membership includes about 2,200 civil trial attorneys from around the country, condemned similar actions by attorneys following the Union Carbide Co. chemical plant disaster in Bhopal, India, in 1985, said board president James A. George, of Baton Rouge, La.
George said that he did not know how many American lawyers have gone to Puerto Rico to solicit clients and that the group’s knowledge of such activity has come mainly from news reports.
“What they’re doing is clearly unethical and prohibited conduct for attorneys,” George said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
