How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice

If you wish to sue your attorney over malpractice, you have to prove that their breach of duty caused legal, monetary or other negative outcomes for you. You must demonstrate that there is a direct link between the attorney's incompetence and the negative outcome.

Strategies do not be considered legal malpractice, but the lawyer you hire fails to file a lawsuit within the timeframe and you lose the case, it could be a case of malpractice.

Inappropriate use of funds

One of the most common types of legal warren malpractice law firm involves the misuse of funds by a lawyer. Attorneys are legally bound by a fiduciary responsibility to their clients and must act with trust and fidelity when handling money or other property that the client has entrusted them with.

When a client is required to pay retainer to their lawyer, the lawyer must put the money into an separate escrow account designated for that case's purpose only. If the attorney co-mingles the escrow account with personal funds or makes use of it for any other purpose that is a clear breach of the fiduciary obligation and could constitute legal negligence.

For instance, suppose that a client employs their attorney to represent them in a lawsuit against a driver who hit them while they were walking along the street. The client can prove the driver's negligence and the collision resulted in the injuries they sustained. The lawyer, however, violates the law and is unable to file the case in time. The lawsuit is dismissed, and the victim is financially harmed because of the lawyer's error.

The time limit to sue an attorney for negligence is governed by a statute of limitations which can be a challenge to calculate in a situation where a loss or injury resulted from the negligence of the attorney. A New York attorney who is knowledgeable about malpractice law will be able to explain the statute of limitations and help you decide if you are eligible for an action.

Disobedience to the Rules of Professional Conduct

Legal malpractice is the case when a lawyer doesn't adhere to generally accepted professional standards and results in harm to the client. It has the same four elements as most torts, including an attorney-client relationship, a duty, a breach, and proximate causation.

A few examples of malpractice include the lawyer combining their personal and trust funds, failing to timely to file suit within statutes of limitations, taking cases in which they are not competent, failing to carry out an examination of conflicts and not staying up to date on court proceedings, or Vimeo any new developments in law that could affect the case. Lawyers are required to communicate with their clients in a fair and reasonable manner. This doesn't just mean email and faxes, but also answering phone calls promptly.

Attorneys can also commit fraud. This could be accomplished by lying to the client, or any other person who is involved in the case. It is important to know the facts so that you can determine whether the attorney was deceitful. It also constitutes a breach of the contract between attorney and client if an attorney is assigned a case that is outside of their expertise and fails to inform the client of this or recommend seeking separate counsel.

Inability to provide advice

When a client hires an attorney, it means they have reached the stage where their legal issue is beyond their ability and experience and that they are unable to resolve it by themselves. It is the attorney's responsibility to advise clients on the merits of a particular case along with the costs and risks involved and their rights. If an attorney fails to do this, they may be guilty of malpractice.

Many legal malpractice cases stem due to poor communication between attorneys and their clients. For example attorneys may not respond to phone calls or fail to notify their clients of a decision they made on their behalf. A lawyer may also fail to disclose important information about the case or fail to identify any issues with a transaction.

It is possible to claim a lawyer's malpractice, but a client must prove that they have suffered real financial losses because of the negligence of the lawyer. These losses must be documented, which requires evidence like client files emails, correspondence between the attorney and the client, and bills. In cases of theft or fraud it could be required to have an expert witness examine the case.

Inability to Follow the Law

Attorneys are required to adhere to the law and understand how it applies in specific circumstances. If they fail to do so and they don't, they could be found guilty of misconduct. Examples include mixing client funds with theirs, using settlement proceeds to pay for personal expenses and not doing basic due diligence.

Another instance of legal misconduct is failure to file a lawsuit within the statute of limitations, missing deadlines for filing with the court and not observing the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys must also disclose any conflicts of interest. They must inform clients of any financial or personal interests that could influence their judgement when representing them.

Attorneys must also adhere to the instructions of their clients. If a customer instructs the attorney to take specific actions the attorney must comply with those instructions unless there is an obvious reason that it would not be beneficial or feasible.

To prevail in a harrisonville malpractice lawsuit lawsuit the plaintiff must prove that the lawyer violated his duty of care. This can be difficult since it requires proving the defendant's actions or inaction resulted in damages. It's also not enough to show that the result of the attorney's negligence was negative in order for a malpractice claim to succeed, it must be shown that there is an extremely high chance that the plaintiff could have won their case in the event that the defendant had followed standard practice.