Dealing with clients’ property

Due to the nature of the legal profession and the nobility attached to it, many find it easier to trust a lawyer with certain property to be held in trust for them be it tangible or intangible. It is not out of place to see lawyers managing estates for clients or being executors of wills […]

Due to the nature of the legal profession and the nobility attached to it, many find it easier to trust a lawyer with certain property to be held in trust for them be it tangible or intangible. It is not out of place to see lawyers managing estates for clients or being executors of wills on behalf of deceased clients. It is public confidence on the nobility of the profession that gives rise to scenarios like this and many alike too numerous to mention.
One young wig reading this article is saying ‘I don’t have a client yet, not to talk of holding property for them.’ It is undeniable that some young wigs might not have clients to manage their property at the moment but then, it is something we cannot avoid as a legal practitioner, we all start somewhere. A lawyer must build his client base by offering job satisfaction to clients and one way of keeping clients satisfied is the safe custody of their property.
Property in this stead could be documents, land, estates, shares, money et al, but for the purpose of discuss focus shall be on money. A lawyer might just happen to be in a position where he is entrusted with monies for his clients, he owes it to the client to promptly notify them and await further instructions. Ethics of the profession would be offended if the client gets to find out about the money from other sources and then request for it only to find the lawyer wanting.
The fulcrum of the legal profession is founded upon integrity, honour, reliability and uprightness, that is why a young lawyer must be careful in handling client’s property. It is dangerous to mix clients’ money with personal money.  I like to call money ‘spirit’ because it always serves a purpose when available, one might believe he can control any amount of money in his possession and would definitely pay back when needed by the client, but then what happens when the client needs the money at a time the lawyer doesn’t have means to provide?
The issue of managing client’s property is one thing a lawyer cannot do without, it is how one manages the property in the best interest of both parties that counts. There are stipulated percentages for handling clients’ money due to one service rendered by the lawyer, this is provided to prevent lawyers from tampering with clients’ money no matter how critical the situation may be.
Situation may arise where monies provided have been agreed by both parties to be due at a particular time of the year and as a result, a lawyer may be tempted to put the money into personal use pending when the client might need them, but then again, no one knows when a client would actually be in need of money in possession of his or her lawyer. Agreements could be reached as to when certain monies are due to the client, but a lawyer should be careful while reaching such, as the terms and conditions should apply not only to protect the client but also the lawyer.
The whole idea is to save the face of the profession, which is a more reason why a lawyer should not be found wanting. So many petitions have been filed with different branches on this issue, why a young lawyer must manage the little of the client’s money in his possession to avoid this kind of embarrassment in the future.
It is not about whether a young lawyer has clients at the moment to manage his or her property, it is about notifying any client when money is in your possession, and ensuring that when needed, it is provided. The essence being to show the society that lawyers are not only trusted with facts and scenarios that happen to clients on daily basis but also reliable when called upon to safeguard clients’ properties.
 
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