Is this a violation of Legal Ethics?

3 years ago a lease was signed. The rentor needed to have a third party guarentee the rent because of poor credit history. He had just met his daughter who'd been adopted at birth. She's a lawyer. Their relationship was new and tenuous.
He failed on his rent. The management company's lawyer, in attempting to collect money from the man's daughter, communicates to her several untruths regarding the man's efforts to pay the back rent owed.

The statement was, "鈥is email is full of lies, but I am not going to waste my time pointing them out to you.

.... that's just another lie to make him look good - or should I say better than he looks to you now ...

He is full of **** and he hurt you badly. But it's over now and you'll be out of this mess as soon as the back rents are paid."

I feel that these are unethical attempts to drive a wedge into the relationship. What the attorney claims is not true. This man did not lie to his daugher. He has had some very bad luck.

Rule 4.4 Respect for Rights of Third Persons


In representing a client, a lawyer shall not use means that have no substantial purpose other than to embarrass, delay, or burden a third person, or use methods of obtaining evidence that violate the legal rights of such a person.

Generally you cannot complain successfully about ethics unless you are the client. An opposing lawyer owes no duties to others beyond the law that applies between ordinary persons in making a communication. There is an exception about threatening criminal proceedings to collect civil debts.

If he had put before his statements, "My client informs me..." or "I am instructed that...", he would not have any problem.

However, if you complain he will say that is what was meant. I think the he would be better to sue for libel. It may also be mail fraud, if it was an intentionally false statement to try to obtain money.

Sounds like a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. One can sue for that, one can.

Yes this is unethical. Unfortunately this is why lawyers have such a bad rep.

"Legal ethics" is sometimes an oxymoron. Some lawyers will do whatever is expedient, whether it's honest or not. I agree that it's unethical to falsely accuse someone of lying. It also seems unethical to collect back rent from the daughter, who apparently had just come into the picture. If they truly thought he wasn't being honest about his financial situation, why did they stop trying to collect from him and go after his daughter? Something is wrong with this picture.

Maybe she should have considered the possibility that her dad was a bum before she guaranteed his funds.

First off, the FDCPA has no jurisdiction over this matter. And as for the ethics matter, it has also nothing to do with ethics. We don't even know what the daughter wrote in her emails to which the attorney is responding.

The plain fact is, nothing in this post is relevant to the issues you raise.