How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice

To pursue an attorney's negligence, you must to prove that the breach of duty caused financial, legal, or other consequences for you. You must establish a direct connection between the attorney's negligence and the negative outcome.

Matters of strategy do not qualify as legal malpractice, however, if your lawyer does not file a lawsuit on time and you lose the case, that could be a form of malpractice lawsuits.

The misuse of funds

A misuse of funds by a lawyer is one of the most widespread forms of legal malpractice. Attorneys have a fiduciary relationship with their clients and are required to behave with a high level of trust and fidelity, especially when dealing with money or other property that the client has handed over to them.

If a client pays retainer to their lawyer, the lawyer is required to deposit the money in a separate escrow account that is specifically destined for the purpose of the case only. If the lawyer co-mingles the account with their own personal funds or utilizes it for other purposes it is a clear breach of fiduciary responsibility and could constitute legal fraud.

Imagine, for example that a client hires an attorney to represent him in a lawsuit against a driver whose vehicle struck them when they crossed the street. The client has proof that the driver was negligent and could demonstrate that the collision caused their injuries. However, their lawyer misses the deadline and is incapable of bringing the case in time. The lawsuit is dismissed, and the person who was injured is liable for financial loss as a result of the lawyer's mistake.

The time to sue an attorney for negligence is governed by a statute that limits the time for suing which can be a challenge to determine in cases where a loss or injury occurred as the result of the negligence of the attorney. A qualified New York attorney with experience in the field of malpractice law will be able to explain the statute of limitations to you and assist you determine if your case is a good candidate for a legal malpractice lawsuit.

Inability to follow the Rules of Professional Conduct

Legal malpractice occurs when an attorney does not adhere to generally accepted professional standards and harms the client. It requires the four elements of the most common torts: an attorney-client relation and a duty, breach and proximate cause.

A few examples of malpractice include a lawyer mixing their personal and trust funds, failing to file a suit within the statute of limitations, pursuing cases where they are not competent, failing to conduct a conflict check and not staying up to the current court proceedings, or any new legal developments that could impact the case. Lawyers have a responsibility to communicate with their clients in a timely manner. This is not limited to email and faxes but also resolving telephone calls promptly.

Attorneys can also commit fraud. It can be done by lying to the client or to anyone else involved in the case. In this case it is essential to have all the facts at your possession to determine if the lawyer was being deceitful. It also constitutes a breach of the attorney-client contract if an attorney takes on an issue that is outside of their expertise and fails to inform the client about this or malpractice recommend seeking separate counsel.

Inability to inform

When a client engages an attorney, it implies that their legal issues have been beyond their expertise and experience. They are unable solve the issue on their own. Lawyers are required to inform clients of the advantages of the case, the potential risks and costs involved, and their rights. When an attorney fails to do this, they may be found guilty of malpractice.

Many legal malpractice cases result due to poor communication between attorneys and their clients. For instance attorneys may not return phone calls or fail to inform their clients of a decision they made on their behalf. Attorneys may also fail to communicate important details about a case or fail to disclose known problems with an transaction.

A client can sue an attorney if they have suffered financial losses as a result of the negligence of the lawyer. These losses must be documented, which requires documents such as client files emails, client files, and other correspondence between the lawyer and the client, as well bills. In the case of fraud or theft an expert witness might be required to look into the case.

Failure to Follow the Law

Attorneys must abide by the law and be aware of what it means for specific situations. They could be found guilty of malpractice when they fail to do so. Examples include commingling client funds with their own or using settlement proceeds for personal expenses, and failing to perform basic due diligence.

Other examples of legal malpractice are failure to file a suit within the time limit or missing deadlines for filing with the court and not complying with the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys are also required to disclose any significant conflicts of interests. This means that they must inform clients of any financial or personal interests that might affect their decision-making process when representing them.

Attorneys are also required to follow the instructions of their clients. If a client asks the attorney to take specific actions an attorney must follow those instructions unless there's an obvious reason to believe that it is not beneficial or even feasible.

To prevail in a malpractice suit the plaintiff has to prove that the lawyer breached their duty of care. It isn't easy to prove that the defendant's actions or actions caused damage. It is not enough to show that the attorney's negligence caused a bad result. A malpractice claim must prove that there was a significant likelihood that the plaintiff's case would have been won if the defendant had followed the standard procedure.