A major ethical breach occurs when attorneys fail to deliver money to clients or commit some type of fraud upon their own clients. Attorneys even are prohibited from commingling (mixing) their funds with that of their clients. The fear is that the attorneys will not return the necessary monies to the clients.

Another common problem is that attorneys fail to manage a case properly by not responding to court demands in a case or not filing the proper pleadings in a case. Another problem occurs when attorneys fail to file a lawsuit within the necessary time period—called a statute of limitations. If a lawyer fails to file a lawsuit within the necessary time period, then the client loses his or her right to recover even if the suit is meritorious.