Plaintiff in this case has been through the wringer, hiring an attorney in a car case and having that attorney refer out the case,  2d attorney lets the case go past statute, and 1st attorney suggests suing 2d attorney for legal malpractice.  However, when client sues, Attorney 2 impleads Attorney 1.  Then it gets interesting. 

"After the legal malpractice suit was filed, Mr. Gnall’s name was added as a defendant and eventually a settlement was reached with $567,831.10 going to Ms. Buntz. Mr. Gnall, meanwhile, received a $133,332 referral fee from the firm.

The settlement check, however, was sent to Mr. Gnall, along with paperwork Ms. Buntz had to sign, according to John McGovern, the attorney now representing Ms. Buntz. Instead of handing over the settlement check to Ms. Buntz, Mr. Gnall told her to see Mr. Peperno for investment advice, the suit alleges.

“She’s not a lawyer, and she didn’t understand he had been added to the (legal malpractice) suit,” Mr. McGovern said. “He was still giving her legal advice, when he should have stepped aside.”

"About $300,000 of her settlement money was invested through Mr. Peperno’s cousin, Frank Peperno, who was a licensed stockbroker, according to both federal court paperwork and the lawsuit filed by Ms. Buntz. The rest, both the federal indictment and Ms. Buntz’ suit claims, was used by James Peperno.

Mr. Gnall’s federal indictment contains accusations that he received $275,000 from Mr. Peperno in July 2005, at least some of which was Ms. Buntz’ money. Mr. Gnall allegedly used the money to buy the building where his law practice was located. "