Fee Reduction for Inadequate Mandate Fulfillment

In a fee dispute under the former Cantonal Lawyers Act, the supervisory authority clarified the principle that inadequate fulfillment of a mandate by a legal professional does not automatically forfeit the entire fee claim but rather entitles the client to a reduction of the remuneration based on the concept of equivalence, meaning the fee is reduced to the extent the service remains usable for the client. The court reasoned that a complete loss of the fee claim only occurs when the service is entirely useless, equivalent to non-performance, and the lawyer is only absolved of liability if their conduct was not constitutive of the damage caused by the poor performance; the required standard of care is judged against the specific mandate and the client's best interests, acknowledging that the lawyer is not liable for success but for applying the necessary diligence appropriate to the circumstances.