Assets Loss in the US Due to Inability to Hire a Good Lawyer

• Since 2010, tens of thousands of homeowners have alleged they were cheated by bad lawyers or marketers boasting ties to law firms, a Center for Public Integrity investigation found.
• A coalition of consumer and law enforcement groups organized by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has tracked companies and law firms that have falsely promised to “rescue” homeowners from foreclosure.
• This group has collected more than 46,000 written complaints from homeowners whose losses totaled more than $100 million — nearly two-thirds linked to probable misconduct by lawyers or their associates.
• Minorities accounted for just over half of these complaints, and they tended to lose more money than whites.
• Many victims have not recovered much, if any, of their money. The Federal Trade Commission and the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have won more than $341 million in civil judgments, but the agencies have actually collected less than 5 percent of that amount, according to court records.