Attorneys owe clients an ethical duty to protect and defend a client’s legal interests. Ethical duties owed by attorneys to clients are memorialized in a set of rules in every State. Find these rules at your State bar’s website. Search for “Rules of Professional Conduct.” It should be available for download.
Readers shouldn’t be surprised that attorneys are held to high standards of ethical conduct. The State’s Rules of Professional Conduct govern issues like Competence, Diligence, Communication, Confidentiality, Conflict of Interest, and responsibilities as Advisor. Attorneys strive to meet or exceed these standards of conduct as a matter of professional pride and to protect their right to practice the law.
In addition to ethical rules, attorneys owe a fiduciary duty to their clients, meaning that attorneys are obliged to treat their client’s money as if it were their own. The Golden Rule rules the gold!
Most States allow attorneys to broker real estate transactions. Using an attorney to broker your transaction reduces risks caused by a breakdown in competence, diligence, communication, confidentiality, conflict of interest, or advisory responsibilities.
Perhaps most importantly, attorneys are held to a fiduciary standard in representing their client during the real estate transaction, the highest ethical standard where money is involved.
If a real estate attorney is willing and available to broker your transaction, investigate their experience, terms, and fees to see if your interests are best served by using their service.
At Timely Contract, our primary legal services include: real estate contract review, real estate contract drafting, legal opinions for title insurance exceptions, and research, due diligence, and legal opinions for properties.
At Timely Contract we have local real estate attorneys who have experience throughout Idaho, including: Boise, Post Falls, Coeur d’Alene, Lewiston, Moscow, and Sandpoint.
We also have local real estate attorneys who have experience throughout Montana, including: Missoula, Billings, Bozeman, and Kalispell.
And we have local real estate attorneys who have experience throughout Washington, including: Spokane, Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, Medical Lake, and Cheney.
This posting is not legal advice. Legal advice is based on specific facts. This information is necessarily general in nature.