How to Sue Your Attorney for malpractice lawyer

To sue your attorney for negligence, you must show that their breach of duty caused financial, legal or other negative effects for you. You must establish that there is a direct link between the attorney's negligence and the negative results.

Legal malpractice doesn't include matters of strategy. However, if you lose a lawsuit because your lawyer did not file the lawsuit on time it could be a case of malpractice.

Inappropriate use of funds

One of the most common types of legal malpractice is a lawyer's misuse of funds. Lawyers are required to fulfill a fiduciary duty to their clients, and sandy springs malpractice law firm must act with integrity and fidelity when handling funds or other property that the client has trusted them with.

When a client makes retainer fees, their lawyer is required to put that money into a separate escrow account that is specifically destined for the purpose of the case only. If the lawyer makes use of the escrow account for personal purposes or co-mingles it with their own funds, they are in violation of their fiduciary obligations and could be charged with legal negligence.

For instance, suppose that a customer hires their attorney to represent them in an action against a driver who struck them as they were walking along the street. The client has evidence that the driver was negligent and could show that the accident caused their injuries. However, their lawyer is not aware of the statute of limitations and is not able to file the case within time. The lawsuit is dismissed and the injured party is liable for financial loss as a result of the lawyer's error.

The time to sue an attorney for negligence is governed by a statute of limitations which can be difficult to calculate in a situation where a loss or injury was the result of the attorney's negligence. A New York attorney who is skilled in malpractice law can explain the statute of limitation and help you determine if you are eligible for a lawsuit.

Infractions to the rules of professional conduct

Legal malpractice occurs when a lawyer fails adhere to the generally accepted standards of professional practice and results in harm to the client. It requires the four elements of the most common torts: an attorney-client relationship, a duty, breach and proximate cause.

Some typical examples of malpractice include a lawyer mixing their personal and trust account funds, failing to bring suit within the timeframe set by the statute of limitations or taking on cases in which they are not competent, failing to conduct a conflict-check, and not staying up to date on court proceedings or new developments in the law that may affect the case. Lawyers are accountable to communicate with their clients in a reasonable manner. This is not limited to email or fax and also includes answering phone calls promptly.

It is also possible for lawyers to engage in fraud. This could be done by lying to the client or anyone else involved in the case. It is important to know the facts so you can determine if the lawyer was untruthful. It also constitutes a breach of the contract between attorney and client if an attorney accepts an issue that is outside of their expertise and does not inform the client of this or recommend seeking separate counsel.

Inability to advise

When a client engages a lawyer, it means that their legal issues have become beyond their knowledge and experience. They are unable to solve the problem on their own. The lawyer is required to inform clients of the advantages of the case, the risks and costs involved, as well as their rights. A lawyer who fails to provide this advice could be held accountable.

Many legal malpractice claims arise because of poor communication between lawyers and their clients. For example an attorney may not return phone calls or fail to inform their clients of a decision made on their behalf. An attorney could also fail to communicate important details about a case or fail to inform clients of issues in the transaction.

It is possible to sue an attorney for malpractice, but a client must prove that they suffered real financial losses because of the lawyer's negligence. These losses must be documented, which requires evidence such as client files email correspondence, other correspondence between the attorney and the client, as well as bills. In the event of fraud, or theft an expert witness might be required to examine the case.

Inability to Follow the Law

Attorneys must adhere to the law and be aware of how it applies to specific situations. If they fail to do so, they could be guilty of misconduct. Examples include mixing client funds with their own using settlement proceeds to pay for personal expenses and failing to do basic due diligence.

Other examples of legal misconduct include failure to file a lawsuit within the statute of limitation, missing court filing deadlines and not adhering to the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys are also obligated to disclose any significant conflicts of interest. This means that they must inform clients of any personal or financial interest that could influence their decision-making process when representing them.

Finally, attorneys are obligated to follow the instructions of their clients. Attorneys must abide by the instructions of clients, unless it is clear that the decision will not be beneficial.

To prevail in a malpractice lawsuit, the plaintiff must prove that the lawyer breached their duty of care. It can be challenging to prove that the defendant's actions or actions resulted in damage. It's not enough to prove that the result of the negligence of the attorney was bad; for a sandy Springs Malpractice law firm claim to succeed, it needs to be proven that there is an excellent chance that the plaintiff could have won the case should the defendant followed standard practice.