Lawyers gone bad pick victims from society's most vulnerable.

RAUL Ochoa Mata had been a construction worker in Los Angeles for years, but when his driver's license was about to expire he needed help getting a separate permit to work in the United States.

The Mexican-born Mata turned to his coworkers, who gave him the business card of a lawyer they said could get him the required permit in four to five months. He made contact, but after that came his nightmare: the lawyer disappeared, a paralegal almost got him deported, and the new attorney withdrew from his case at the last minute.

"I thought everything would be OK based on everything I heard," said Mata, through an interpreter at the Public Counsel Law Center, a pro bono group. "I didn't think it would be a big battle."

But a battle it is, and the lawyers who prey on desperate clients like Mata often win. Some of them skirt the edges of ethical conduct and some go way over. They step in when people are most vulnerable, whether in the midst of a divorce or minutes after a car accident. They target those who are unclear about how the laws work. And on occasion, they wind up taking someone's life savings.

Most of all, they are always available--marketing their services on the sides of buses, through street leaflets and in radio and television commercials.

"The clients are extremely vulnerable," said Dan Grunfeld, president and chief executive of Public Counsel. "They may not be as proficient in English or as familiar with the legal system as they can be, and therefore make particularly attractive clients."

Afraid to complain

To be sure, this brand of unscrupulous attorney represents only a small slice of the profession--the kind of lawyer who has been around for as long as there have been lawyers. And there are organizations and government agencies that investigate unethical practices.

But typically, nothing comes of it, mostly because the victims are either afraid, don't speak the language or feel foolish about being taken advantage of.

"A number of them have unclear immigration status and fear being deported," said Kathleen Tuttle, deputy district attorney in the consumer protection division of the Los Angeles District Attorney's office. "They also view governments as being corrupt and not there to help the people. So the last resort would be to go to the District Attorney's office."

Even if there are complaints, finding the lawyer in question can be a problem. Besides disconnected phones or a failure to show up in court--problems common in divorce, immigration and bankruptcy cases--attorneys sometimes slip by because, ironically, the original work is so slipshod.

"It's been an eye-opening experience for me," said Edward Miller, a deputy L.A. District Attorney who works in the justice system integrity division, which prosecutes lawyers for charges that included grand theft and embezzlement.

"I had no idea of the extent of criminal activity lawyers in our state are involved in," he explained. "The vast majority of lawyers are honest, but it's these people who put a black mark on the profession."

Precise numbers are as elusive as the attorneys themselves. The State Bar of California received 110,343 calls on its toll-flee complaint line in 2002, the most recent figure available. Of that number, only about 10 percent filled out complaint forms. The biggest gripe: a lawyer's poor performance.

The State Bar looks into complaints of lawyers who don't return phone calls, don't return unused fees, perform incompetently, misappropriate funds or do something that would jeopardize their client's case. The Bar may force a disciplined lawyer to re-take exams, suspend him from practice or disbar him.

Cases involving possible criminal activity are supposed to get referred to the District Attorney's office, but Miller said that practice hasn't happened until now because the Bar has been understaffed for years. The DA's integrity division was created, in part, because criminal cases involving attorneys were not referred or prosecuted.

"A lot of times local police agencies will look at them and consider them to be civil matters," he said. "They'll conclude it's a civil matter, when in fact a lawyer has violated someone's trust and committed an outright theft."

Prowling for clients

Clients are solicited through various means--advertising and direct mail, as well as by searching police records and scanning government Web sites. Names are sometimes used that sound like legitimate legal organizations.

The most common abuses occur in immigration law when attorneys save money by having paralegals or support staff handle large amounts of paperwork. Several non-lawyers, often referred to as notarios, are on the hunt for clients and later split fees with attorneys.

"You might find them in the hallways in court, hanging out in the coffee shop in front of court, in front of the immigration building or inside the building," said Alan Diamante, president-elect of the Mexican-American Bar Association and an immigration attorney. "They want people to go in for legal advice. Then, they pass it on to the attorney upstairs."

Stephen Alexander, an immigration attorney in Pomona, argues that not all the problems lie with the lawyers; some stem from the immigration system.

"The law is harsh," said Alexander, whose office takes about 100 cases at a time. "A lawyer will say it's a wing and a prayer. Someone without experience in the system will say the lawyer doesn't care."

Alexander, who also handles criminal defense work and some personal injury cases, said complaints about immigration attorneys handling a high volume of work are "unjustified."

He said many of his clients are immigrants who have been arrested or are in the process of being deported by the government. He said he charges $1,000 to $1,500 for a case, including a partial up-front fee. Most clients make payments through an installment plan. "People with economic hardships are charged less," he said.

Fees for little work

Another area known for questionable practices is bankruptcy law, with mill-type operators among the biggest offenders in filing unnecessary and expensive amendments and continuances--or failing to disclose what fees they've received. At best, filings take longer than necessary; at worst, they could result in homes being lost.

"They're making money because they're collecting a fee and doing almost no work themselves by having the work performed by a paralegal," Howard Ehrenberg, a trustee and bankruptcy attorney at SulmeyerKupetz PC.

In a complaint filed Oct. 17, 2003, with the Better Business Bureau of the Southland, a client of a Newhall legal service called 4 The People said she had to handle her own court hearing after her bankruptcy and divorce attorney, Patricia Escobar, never showed up. Escobar did not return calls for comment.

"That happens every time I'm in court," said Fred Silberberg, a partner at family law firm Silberberg & Ross LLP. "Some person will stand up and say, 'I'm here,' and the judge will say, 'Do you have a lawyer?' And they'll say, 'I don't know,' or, 'He called and said he doesn't know if he's coming.'"

Sometimes, attorneys find loopholes in the law, often at the expense of the client. In personal injury cases, for example, plaintiffs' lawyers might find doctors who diagnose extreme and inaccurate ailments to obtain larger settlements, a percentage of which they receive as contingency fees.

Personal injury lawyers may have hundreds of cases at a time, said Paul Hedlund, senior partner at Baum Hedlund LC. Almost no cases go to trial, and most clients get sent to the same doctors over and over again, he said. The doctors get business from the lawyers, and the lawyers get a diagnosis they can use in court, he said.

"You find these people on the streets, running around with scanners, listening to police calls and passing out cards," said Hedlund, whose firm handles injuries and wrongful death from airplane crashes. "They have a much more sophisticated network than the police do."

In workers' compensation cases, lawyers work similarly but can obtain larger settlements for multiple clients at a time, said Phil Walker, a San Francisco lawyer at Bruyneel & Leichtnam. They often have no witnesses to the injury and file suits against an employer conveniently just before a plant or office closes, he said.

"Are the actions of these attorneys illegal? No," he said. "Is it slime-ball to file all these claims and use doctors who I think are not honest? I think that is true, as well."

Then there are the tactics connected with California's Business and Professions Code 17200. The law protects consumers from unfair and illegal business practices, but can be used by anyone, without an injured party, on behalf of the public. Last year, the State Bar disbarred three attorneys from the Trevor Law Group, in Beverly Hills, for abusing the 17200 law for their own personal gain.

While not violating the law, the three Trevor attorneys sued a host of minority-owned and small businesses, asking for thousands of dollars in settlements.

John Sullivan, president of the Civil Justice Association of California, said several hundred California lawyers have filed such suits against minority-owned and small business owners who cannot defend themselves. They often feel compelled to pay the lawyers suing them when settlement offers of from $3,000 to $5,000 are made, he said.

In certain cases, lawyers are known to play on the emotional vulnerabilities of their clients. Fear gives some lawyers a distinct leverage, particularly when a client has never needed a lawyer before, said Lawrence Taylor, a Long Beach attorney who defends individuals arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. Lawyers who unethically handle DUI cases often charge bargain rates, spend an hour on a case and then plead the client guilty in court, he said.

"You're dealing with people who are very frightened," Taylor said of a typical client. "They've never been in trouble and they're not sure if they're guilty. They're scared to death. A lot of attorneys see that as a lucrative market."

Not surprisingly, ads and brochures claim a high percentage of courtroom wins, along with promises of being able to get someone out of jail. Another marketing opportunity: advertising in magazines aimed at the recently incarcerated. Those publications, which are mailed directly to jail, include DUI, Presumed Innocent, On Trial and Crime, Justice & America--all published by San Diego-based On Trial Magazine LLC.

"The law business is somewhat arrogant," said Bill Nimmo, who founded On Trial Magazine almost three years ago as a side business to his criminal law practice. (He is also a legal analyst for the CBS affiliate in San Diego.) "The people who really need help don't get the information unless they have real solid contacts or they come from a well-heeled family."

As for advertising, Nimmo puts it this way: "If the good lawyers don't advertise, the bad lawyers do and that's who the public sees. "We're doing a disservice to the community as good lawyers by not advertising."

Limited enforcement

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, whose consumer protection division investigates unlicensed attorneys, recently created a 120-page manual for the office's 1,000 deputy district attorneys to bring such cases in their own divisions. In 2001, the DA's office created the justice system integrity division that has successfully prosecuted 20 attorneys, said Miller.

But for all these efforts, it remains a struggle to get victims to come forward.

Targeted attorneys may simply disconnect their phones or fall to show up in court. Others change their business names. Mostly, they defend themselves by picking clients unable or unwilling to take them on.

"The people who are least able to defend themselves are the most victimized," said Grunfeld. "There is a mechanism to get redress. But unfortunately, the people victimized are not overly familiar with the system."

Figuring out if the attorney was responsible for any poor outcome is complicated when the work they do is sloppy or inadequate. And barfing those lawyers from practice is difficult, said Steve Katzman, U.S. Trustee for Central and Southern California, because the proof is harder to come by.

"It's a question of how we detect it," he said. "Hypothetically, you may not give enough information for your lawyer to prepare schedules, or you leave out information. Then you get to the hearing and it's discovered. Whose fault was it? Yours. In another situation, you've given the right information, and it's the lawyer's fault."

Even if a lawyer has been identified, he may close shop and open under a different business name.

The most significant prosecution in the DA's division involved a former Valencia lawyer who stole $2 million from the trust funds of 12 people, including two elderly victims. The lawyer, Bruce Allan Nahin, was convicted on theft charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay a $1.6 million fine.

"For three of the people involved, he stole their life savings," Miller said.

Nahin resigned from the State Bar in November 2000 but continued to practice law. Last year, he pleaded no contest to two felony counts, one theft from an elder adult and one grand theft by embezzlement.

But Tuttle said "not every case that comes to us is necessarily prosecutable." And, given government resources, "we've had to cherry-pick which case we would run with because we can't prosecute them all."

As for Mata, who is married with two children Public Counsel has sued the lawyer who withdrew from his case. But Mata already paid more than $1,000 in legal fees. Public Counsel is now handling Mata's immigration papers. The permitting process could take another year. "We're doing everything we can to adjust his status, and we have compelling facts to get his residency," Hernan Vera, directing attorney with the Consumer Law Project at Public Counsel. "That will be a long and difficult process."

RELATED ARTICLE: Aggressive tactics.

Clients often pay the price when lawyers seek them out.

* Immigration

How they do it: Split fees with an unlicensed attorney or paralegal who does the documentation and solicits clients

What they earn: $150 to $300 a hearing, often cash

Result: Hit and miss documentation

* Workers' Compensation

How they do it: Exaggerate the injury, fail to provide witnesses, find doctors who diagnose extreme disabilities

What they earn: $1,500 per case

Result: Often-inaccurate diagnoses, ill-prepared documentation

* Personal Injury

How they do it: Use police scanners to learn about accidents, also use doctors willing to issue questionable diagnoses

What they earn: One-third of a typical $5,000 to $15,000 settlement

Result: Frequently poor settlements

* Bankruptcy

How they do it: Paralegals do documentation and pay lawyers to appear in court for client; "appearance attorneys' paid by lawyers to show up in court

What they earn: $200 up-front fee

Result: Ill-prepared documentation, undervalued assets, failure to appear in court 

* Divorce/Family law

How they do it: Hire paralegal, play on fears of client, take simple cases

What they earn: $200 or less per hour Result: Ill-prepared documentation, failure to appear in court, do not know client

* Criminal Defense

How they do it: Obtain arrest information from public records advertise to convicts, play on fears of client negotiate a guilty plea

Result: Convict an innocent person, ignore hearings to get license back

* Unfair Competition Suits (17200)

How they do it: Create nonprofit as plaintiff offer to settle with minority-owned businesses

What they earn: $2,000 to $10,000 settlements

Result: Small businesses lose money