Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania
monitary offers by a party to settle
our laywer ethiniclly responsible to tell their clients if an offer has been made to settle? and if so what happens or can happen if a laywer doesn't inform their clients?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: monetary offers by a party to settle
Depends on what you told your lawyer. In general your lawyer has to tell you about any settlement offer. Even ones that he knows you'll reject.
Settlement offers are not admissible as evidence. However, they do give you an idea what the other side thinks of the case. Which is information that helps you decide how to proceed.
It is a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct not to communicate all offers to the client absent an instruction to the contrary.
If you believe you lawyer didn't inform you of an offer your first step you should take is talk to your lawyer. There may be a good reason he didn't forward the offer. Or maybe not. Personally I'd want to know.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me. The initial consultation is free.
{John}