To win a malpractice case against an attorney, you must prove four basic things: duty -- that the attorney owed you a duty to act properly. breach -- that the attorney breached the duty: she was negligent, she made a mistake, or she did not do what she agreed to do.
How do you sue an attorney for malpractice?
To win a malpractice case against an attorney, you must prove four basic things: duty -- that the attorney owed you a duty to act properly breach -- that the attorney breached the duty: she was negligent, she made a mistake, or she did not do what she agreed to do
How to sue an attorney for legal malpractice?
Dec 27, 2018 · Lawsuits against lawyers usually fall under three categories: negligence, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty. Negligence. Negligence is the most common grounds for a malpractice lawsuit. It happens when your attorney fails to use the skill and care normally expected of a competent attorney. For example, you might have grounds for a negligence suit …
Can you sue a government lawyer for malpractice?
While legal malpractice cases can be complex, in some cases filing a malpractice suit against a lawyer who exhibited negligence in your case may be your only recourse. The legal malpractice may be obvious, such as a missed deadline or statute of limitations. Other times, the issue may fall in the “gray” area regarding whether legal malpractice occurred and whether it had a …
What to expect from a legal malpractice case?
A victim of legal malpractice must have had an active client/attorney relationship at the time of the incident in question, except in cases of fraud or misrepresentation. Likewise, they must have suffered financial damages that can be directly linked to the lawyer’s negligence or breach of contractual or fiduciary duties.
How to win a malpractice case?
Most legal malpractice cases are based on negligence. To win this type of case, you must prove all of the following: 1 Your lawyer owed you a duty to competently represent you. 2 Your lawyer breached that duty. 3 Your lawyer's breach caused you to suffer a financial loss.
What is negligence in a lawsuit?
Negligence. Negligence is the most common grounds for a malpractice lawsuit. It happens when your attorney fails to use the skill and care normally expected of a competent attorney. For example, you might have grounds for a negligence suit if your lawyer missed an important deadline, failed to prepare for trial, or failed to follow court orders.
How long does it take to file a malpractice case?
The time limit for filing a legal malpractice case can be as short as one year.
What is a breach of contract?
Breach of contract. Breach of contract occurs when a lawyer violates a specific term of the lawyer’s agreement with a client. For example, if your contract says that your lawyer will create a corporation for you by a certain date, the lawyer must stick to that agreement. Breach of fiduciary duty. Lawyers owe certain fiduciary duties ...
How to resolve a dispute with a lawyer?
Participate in fee arbitration . If your dispute with your lawyer is over fees, most states offer an informal method of resolution called arbitration. A neutral third party presides over the arbitration, receives evidence from both sides, and makes a decision about what fees are owed.
What is a breach of fiduciary duty?
Breach of fiduciary duty. Lawyers owe certain fiduciary duties to their clients, such as the duty of loyalty and duty of confidentiality. Your lawyer must act in your best interests and must keep your communications confidential.
What is the easiest element to prove?
The first element is usually the easiest to prove. If your lawyer agreed to represent you in a case or provide other legal services, your lawyer owes you a duty of care. The second element is more difficult to prove. It is not enough to show that your lawyer made a mistake or that you lost your case.
What is legal malpractice?
Legal malpractice cases are two cases in one. You must prove that your attorney exhibited negligence while handling your case, and if that negligence had not occurred, you would have received a more favorable outcome, settlement, or judgment than you did. Substantial levels of re-litigation of the original case are often necessary in order ...
How to contact Patrick Malone?
Call us at 1-202-742-1500 or 1-888-625-6635 or fill out our confidential contact form for a FREE Consultation and review of your case. PLEASE NOTE: The Patrick Malone law firm cannot help you with a claim against an attorney in the fields of criminal law, family law (including divorce, alimony, custody, parental rights), immigration, or employment. ...
What is the duty of care of an attorney?
The first is that your original attorney owed you a duty of care to act properly in your case. There is usually a contract or agreement between a client and attorney which affirms this duty of care. Secondly, it must be shown that your original attorney breached this duty of care.
What is legal malpractice?
In legal malpractice cases, this means that a person represented by a lawyer suffered harm because of the lawyer’s actions or inactions. To qualify as legal malpractice, there must be proof that the attorney was negligent, failed to uphold their end of a contract or breached their fiduciary duty.
How to contact Kassab Law Firm?
If you are a victim of legal malpractice, contact the professionals at Kassab Law Firm today at 713-533-7400 to discuss your options. Sources:
What happens if a lawyer is negligent?
A lawyer who is negligent, does not follow the law or behave s in an unethical ...
What is the ethical duty of a lawyer?
Every lawyer has an ethical duty to represent your best interests. This also means that they need to respond to your messages promptly or, at the very least, within a reasonable time frame.
What happens if you fire a lawyer?
Your client file is your property. This means that if you fire your lawyer and ask them to hand over your file, they have to return it promptly. In certain states like California, for instance, getting your file back isn’t contingent on paying your attorney fees in full.
What does it mean to retain a lawyer?
When you retain a lawyer to represent you, you trust that they have the knowledge, expertise, and experience required to get you the best outcome at the end of the process. This also means that they must be sufficiently prepared to deal with any matters that crop up, whether its settlement negotiations or trial.
What happens if a lawyer charges you a lot of money?
If your lawyer is charging you an exorbitant amount of money in fees, refusing to transfer the settlement money owed to you, misplacing, or even stealing your funds – these are all complaint-worthy ethical violations.
How to prove malpractice in a court case?
In order to prove attorney malpractice, an individual must prove all elements of legal malpractice. These include: 1 The attorney’s duty; 2 A breach of the duty; 3 The breach caused the plaintiff’s damages; and 4 Damages the client suffered.
What is the state bar association?
The state bar association is the organization that licenses and regulates attorneys in each state. It is important to note that the state bar cannot help the individual recover any damages they have suffered. In order to recover damages, the individual must sue their former attorney in court.
Can a client sue an attorney?
The client can sue their attorney for damages they suffered . When an individual hires an attorney, they sign a contract with that attorney. If the attorney fails to perform as the contract outlines, then that attorney has committed malpractice and their client may be able to recover damages.
What are the three types of malpractice?
There are three main types of attorney malpractice, including: Negligence; Breach of fiduciary duty; and. Breach of contract. If an attorney does not treat their client’s case as well as an average attorney should, then the attorney was most likely negligent in handling the case. The attorney may have committed malpractice, ...
How long does it take to file a malpractice claim?
In most states, the statute of limitations for attorney malpractice claims is one year from the date of the malpractice, however, it may be longer in some states.
What is an attorney's duty?
The attorney’s duty; A breach of the duty; The breach caused the plaintiff’s damages; and. Damages the client suffered. The plaintiff, or individual who files the attorney malpractice lawsuit, must first prove that their attorney owed them a duty.
What is the third element in a lawsuit?
The third element the plaintiff must prove is causation. This will likely be the most difficult element to prove. This is because the plaintiff must first prove malpractice by the attorney. Then, the plaintiff will have to prove that they would have won their underlying case but for the way the attorney mishandled it.
Do lawyers need liability insurance?
Even if an attorney is incredibly careful, legal malpractice claims are filed all the time and practically cannot be avoided over the course of any legal career. That’s why every attorney and law firm needs to have legal professional liability insurance, to protect themselves from the inevitable scenario of having to cover costs related to a claim made against the attorney or law firm .
Why do clients take their lawyers to court?
Communication is a very important part of the lawyer-client relationship and poor communication is one of the main reasons why clients take their attorneys to court. If an attorney is not returning their clients’ calls and cannot show evidence as to why the lack of communication was warranted, a claim could be filed against them.
What is legal malpractice?
Any time an attorney fails to meet the expected standards of his or her profession, their clients could take legal actions against them for what is called “legal malpractice .”. Legal malpractice claims most often occur when a professional decision or action made by an attorney results in losses for his or her clients, ...
Do lawyers have to have the consent of the client?
A lawyer must always have the consent of the client before taking any legal action.
What happens if you miss a deadline?
Case s of missed deadlines in the legal profession are most commonly linked to attorneys failing to file documents in time. There are several deadlines that need to be met whenever attorneys have to file court documents and failing to meet these deadlines can have negative consequences for their clients and, in turn, themselves.
Can an attorney be liable for negligence?
If a choice of strategy or improper planning leads to losses suffered by the client, an attorney can be liable for professional negligence. Errors related to strategy and planning are generally looked at as errors in judgment regarding how a client’s legal matter should have been handled.
What is a failure to calendar?
Another common mistake that’s related to deadlines is often referred to as a “failure to calendar” properly. This means that the attorney may have been aware of certain deadlines but failed to schedule them for some reason.
Missed Deadlines
Misuse of Finances
- When a client pays a retainer, their attorney must put that money into a trust account. If the attorney puts this money into his or her personal account, this can be considered financial misuse. Of course, the most extreme example of legal malpractice related to a misuse of funds would be of an attorney were to steal funds from their clients outright.
Inadequate Investigation Or Discovery
- One professional responsibility all lawyers take on when they agree to take a case is to put in the proper amount of time and effort investigating their clients’ legal actions. This phase of the legal process is referred to as “discovery,” which is a series of legal mechanisms that attorneys use to put together evidence that will help their clients’ cases. If an attorney does not perform a sufficie…
Errors in Communication
- Communication is a very important part of the lawyer-client relationship and poor communication is one of the main reasons why clients take their attorneys to court. If an attorney is not returning their clients’ calls and cannot show evidence as to why the lack of communication was warranted, a claim could be filed against them. Failure to inform is one of the most common reasons for le…
Failure to Know and/or Apply The Law
- Obviously, lawyers are expected to have a working understanding of all pertinent areas of law in which they are practicing and the know-how to apply the law correctly. If the attorney doesn’t apply a law correctly, misunderstands it, or fails to keep up with changes that have been made to laws within his or her jurisdiction, a legal malpractice claim could be on its way.
Lack of Consent
- While attorneys are hired by clients to represent them in legal matters, that doesn’t mean that they receive carte blanche when it comes to decision making. A lawyer must always have the consent of the client before taking any legal action. In the relationship between client and attorney, the clients outline their objectives while the attorneys put together a strategy that they believe will al…
Fraud
- This one is fairly clear cut. If an attorney deceives the client or anyone else involved in a legal process in order to obtain unlawful gain, there’s a good chance that they have committed fraud. If a client has any reason to believe that something like this occurred, he or she can file a legal malpractice claim against the attorney.
Failure to Follow Instructions
- Similar to taking legal action without the consent of a client, lawyers can also be accused of legal malpractice if they refuse to follow instructions given by their clients. At the end of the day, the client is paying the attorney for legal representation and the attorney is obligated to follow instructions. If the attorney believes that it would not be beneficial to carry out these wishes, the…
Errors in Strategy Or Planning
- If a choice of strategy or improper planning leads to losses suffered by the client, an attorney can be liable for professional negligence. Errors related to strategy and planningare generally looked at as errors in judgment regarding how a client’s legal matter should have been handled.
Conflict of Interest
- The definition of “conflict of interest” is pretty straightforward. If an attorney puts his or her interests ahead of the clients’ interests, that constitutes a conflict in interest. Additionally, putting one client’s interests above another client’s interests can also be considered to be a conflict of interest and an example of legal malpractice. There are many different examples of conflict of in…
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