How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice

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

Legal malpractice does not include matters of strategy. If you lose a case because your lawyer failed to file the lawsuit within the timeframe, this could be an act of malpractice.

Inappropriate use of funds

Misuse of funds by a lawyer is one of the most frequent kinds of legal malpractice. Lawyers have a fiduciary connection with their clients and are expected to behave with the utmost trust and fidelity, particularly when dealing with money or other property that the client has left to them.

When a client pays a retainer to their attorney, the attorney is required to place that money into a separate escrow account that is specifically designated for the specific purpose of the case only. If the lawyer utilizes the escrow funds for personal purposes or co-mingles it with their own funds, they are in violation of their fiduciary duty and could be accused of legal negligence.

Imagine, for instance that a customer hires an attorney to represent the client in a lawsuit filed against a driver who struck them while crossing the street. The client has the ability to prove driver's negligence and the collision resulted in the injuries they sustained. However, their lawyer misses the deadline and is not able to file the case within time. Therefore, the case is dismissed and the party who was injured suffers financial losses due to the lawyer's error.

The time for suing an attorney for negligence is governed by a statute of limitation which can be difficult to calculate in a case where an injury or loss occurred as the result of the negligence of the attorney. A reputable New York attorney with experience in malpractice law can explain the statute of limitations to you and help you determine if your case is suitable for a legal malpractice suit.

Failure to follow the rules of professional conduct

Legal belleview malpractice lawyer occurs when a lawyer fails adhere to generally accepted professional standards and causes harm to the client. It is required to meet the four components of the most common torts: an attorney-client relationship, a duty, breach and the proximate cause.

A few common examples of malpractice are a lawyer who has a personal and trust account funds, failing in time to bring suit within the timeframe of the statute of limitations and assuming cases in which they are not competent, failing to conduct a conflict check, and not being up-to-date with court proceedings or new developments in law that could affect the case. Lawyers must communicate with their clients in a timely manner. This isn't just limited to email and faxing as well as returning telephone calls in a timely manner.

Attorneys can also commit fraud. It can be done by lying to the client or any other person who is involved in the case. It is crucial to know the facts in order to determine if the lawyer was untruthful. A breach of the agreement between the attorney and client occurs when an attorney handles an issue that is not within their area of expertise without informing the client of this or informing them to seek out independent counsel.

Inability to advise

When a client engages an attorney, it implies that their legal issues have been beyond their expertise and knowledge. They are unable to resolve it themselves. It is the job of the lawyer to inform clients of the benefits of a case along with the costs and risks involved and their rights. If an attorney fails to do this, they may be liable for malpractice.

Many legal malpractice claims stem from a lack of communication between attorneys and their clients. For example, an attorney might not respond to phone calls or fail to notify their clients of the decision made on their behalf. An attorney could also not communicate important information regarding a case or fail to disclose known issues with transactions.

It is possible to sue an attorney for negligence, however, a client must prove that they were able to recover financial losses as a result of the lawyer's negligence. The losses have to be documented, which requires evidence such as files of the client email correspondence, other correspondence between the lawyer and the client, along with bills. In the event of fraud or theft, it may also be required to have an expert witness examine the case.

Inability to Follow the Law

Attorneys must be in compliance with the law and be aware of how it applies to specific situations. If they fail to do so or don't, they could be accused of misconduct. Examples include mixing client funds with their own or using settlement proceeds to pay personal expenses, or failing to exercise basic due diligence.

Other instances of legal misconduct include failure to file a suit within the statute of limitations or missing deadlines for filing with the court and not adhering to the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys must also disclose any conflicts of interest. This means that they have to inform clients of any personal or financial interests that might affect their decision-making process when representing them.

Attorneys must also adhere to the instructions of their clients. If a client asks them to take a particular action then the attorney must follow the instructions, unless there's an obvious reason to believe that it would not be beneficial or feasible.

In order to win a malpractice suit the plaintiff must prove that the lawyer violated his duty of care. This can be a challenge, because it requires proving that the defendant's actions or inaction caused damages. It is not enough to prove that the attorney's error led to a poor outcome. A tullahoma malpractice attorney claim must prove that there was a significant likelihood that the plaintiff's lawsuit would have been won if the defendant had followed standard procedures.