Attorney Pursuing Wrongful Death Action Owes Duty of Care to Decedent’s Next of Kin

The Illinois Supreme Court June 19 held that a lawyer hired to bring a wrongful death action owes a duty of care to the decedent’s beneficiaries “despite the absence of a direct attorney-client relationship,” which duty extends to “the distribution phase” of the action (In re Powell, Ill., No. 115997, aff’g 29 Law. Man. Prof. Conduct 207).

“The assertion that an attorney’s duty only extends to the [estate’s] personal representative is at odds with the very purpose of the [Illinois Wrongful Death Act],” Justice Charles E. Freeman wrote. That contention also “ignores” prior cases which made clear that “the decedent’s spouse and ...