Legal Definitions - barratry

Barratry refers to the illegal practice of actively encouraging or stirring up lawsuits, often between other parties, primarily for the purpose of generating legal business and personal financial gain for the attorney or individual involved. It involves improperly soliciting clients or instigating litigation that might not otherwise occur, or pursuing cases without a legitimate basis, solely to profit from legal fees.

This practice is illegal in all U.S. states and is considered a serious ethical violation for legal professionals. Attorneys found guilty of barratry can face severe consequences, including criminal charges, disciplinary action by their state bar association, and the loss of their license to practice law.

• Example 1: Community Meeting Solicitation

  A lawyer's non-attorney representative attends a public meeting discussing a minor, localized environmental incident that caused some community concern but no significant personal injury or property damage. After the meeting, the representative approaches several attendees individually, exaggerating the potential for harm and strongly urging them to join a class-action lawsuit, even though many had not considered legal action and their individual claims are weak. The representative pushes them to sign retainer agreements on the spot, promising substantial settlements.

  This illustrates barratry because the representative, acting on behalf of the lawyer, is actively and improperly soliciting clients and encouraging litigation for the lawyer's financial gain, rather than responding to a genuine, unprompted need for legal services.

• Example 2: Third-Party Case Generation Scheme

  An individual who is not a lawyer regularly visits local small businesses, such as dry cleaners or repair shops, looking for customers who have experienced minor issues like damaged clothing or faulty repairs. This individual then approaches these customers, exaggerates the potential for compensation, and offers to "handle everything" by immediately referring them to a specific law firm. The law firm, in turn, pays this individual a referral fee for each client they bring in, regardless of the merit of the case.

  This demonstrates barratry because a third party is systematically encouraging individuals to pursue legal action and directing them to a specific law firm, creating legal business through improper solicitation and an illegal referral fee arrangement, rather than allowing clients to seek legal counsel independently.

• Example 3: Repeated Baseless Litigation for Harassment

  A property owner, advised by their attorney, files a series of minor, often overlapping, and largely unsubstantiated lawsuits against a neighboring business over trivial matters, such as alleged noise disturbances or minor boundary encroachments that have no significant impact. The property owner and their attorney know that these individual lawsuits are unlikely to result in substantial judgments, but their cumulative effect is to burden the neighboring business with significant legal defense costs and stress, hoping to force them to concede to unrelated demands or simply give up due to the financial strain.

  This exemplifies barratry as it involves the repeated initiation of litigation primarily to harass and financially burden an opponent, rather than to genuinely seek justice for a legitimate claim. The attorney benefits from the ongoing legal fees generated by these numerous, often frivolous, actions.