ALBANY – For the second year in a row, claims against dishonest lawyers and payouts from the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection both fell significantly in 2012 as the profession paid the smallest sum in eight years to reimburse victims of crooked counselors.
An annual report released yesterday shows that the fund paid a total of $5.4 million last year, a decrease of 22 percent from 2011 and the lowest amount since 2004, when $5.1 million was paid. The $6.9 million paid in 2011 was about 19 percent less than the $8.5 million awarded to clients in 2010. Further, the 187 awards last year represented a 26 percent drop from 2011, when 253 awards were granted.
