How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice

To sue an attorney for negligence, you must to show that the breach of duty caused financial, legal or other implications for you. It's not enough to prove the negligence of the attorney was a problem; you must also show an immediate link between the breach and the negative outcome.

Matters of strategy do not be considered legal malpractice, however, if your lawyer fails to submit a lawsuit on time and you lose the case, that could be a sign of malpractice.

Misuse of funds

Fraud in the handling of funds by a lawyer is one of the most frequent types of legal malpractice. Attorneys are legally bound by a fiduciary responsibility to their clients and must behave with trust and fidelity when handling funds or other property the client has entrusted them with.

When a client is required to pay a retainer, their attorney is required to place the money into an separate escrow account specifically for the purpose of that case only. If the attorney co-mingles the account with personal funds or uses it for any other purpose, this is a clear breach of the fiduciary obligation and could constitute legal misconduct.

For example, imagine that a client employs their attorney to represent them in a lawsuit against a driver who hit them as they were walking along the street. The client can prove that the driver was negligent and could prove that the accident caused their injuries. Their lawyer misses the statute and is unable file the case on time. Consequently, the lawsuit is dismissed and the victim is liable for financial losses because of the lawyer's mistake.

The time frame for suing an attorney for malpractice is limited by a statute of limitation that can be difficult to determine in a situation where a loss or injury 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 assist you to determine if your case is suitable for a legal pontiac malpractice lawyer suit.

Disobedience to the Rules of Professional Conduct

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

Some typical examples of malpractice include a lawyer commingling their personal and trust account funds, failing to timely file a lawsuit within the timeframe set by the statute of limitations, taking on cases in which they are not competent, failing to conduct a proper conflict check, as well as not being up-to-date with court proceedings or any new developments in law that could affect the case. Lawyers also have a responsibility to communicate with clients in a reasonable manner. This is not limited to email and faxes, but also resolving telephone calls promptly.

Attorneys are also able to commit fraud. It can be done by lying to the client, or any other person involved in the investigation. In this situation it is essential to have all the facts at hand so that you can determine if the attorney was being untruthful. It also constitutes a breach of the attorney-client agreement if an attorney is assigned cases that are outside of their area of expertise and does not inform the client of this or advise them to seek separate counsel.

Failure to Advise

When a client engages an attorney, it indicates that their legal issues have exceeded their skills and experience. They are unable solve the issue themselves. The lawyer is obliged to inform clients of the importance of the case, the risks and costs involved, as well as their rights. When an attorney fails to do this, they may be liable for malpractice.

Many legal malpractice cases are the result of poor communication between attorneys, and their clients. For example attorneys may not return phone calls or fail to notify their clients of the decision made on their behalf. An attorney might also neglect to provide important information regarding an instance or fail to divulge any issues with an transaction.

A client can sue an attorney if they've suffered financial losses as a result of the lawyer's negligence. The losses must be documented, which will require evidence such as files of the client emails, correspondence between the attorney and the client, along with bills. In cases of fraud or theft it could be necessary to get an expert witness to look into the case.

Inability to Follow the Law

Attorneys are required to follow the law and understand the way it is applied in particular circumstances. If they fail to do so, they could be guilty of malpractice. Examples include mixing client funds with theirs, malpractice lawsuit using settlement proceeds to pay for personal expenses, and not doing basic due diligence.

Another type of legal malpractice is the failure to file a lawsuit within the timeframe of limitations, ignoring deadlines for filing court documents, and not following the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys must disclose any conflicts of interests. This means that they have to inform clients of any financial or personal interests that could affect their decision-making process when representing them.

Additionally, attorneys are required to comply with the directions of their clients. If a customer instructs them to take particular action then the attorney must follow those instructions unless there is an obvious reason that it is not advantageous or is not feasible.

To win a malpractice lawsuit, the plaintiff has to prove that the lawyer has violated his duty of care. This can be a challenge, as it requires showing that the defendant's actions or inaction resulted in damages. It's also not enough to prove that the result of the attorney's negligence was bad to be able to prove a malpractice claim. to succeed, Malpractice Lawsuit it must be proven that there is a high probability that the plaintiff could have won the case in the event that the defendant had followed the accepted practice.