How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice

To sue an attorney for negligence, you need to prove that the breach had negative legal, financial or other implications for you. It's not enough to demonstrate that the attorney's negligence was bad it is also necessary to establish a direct link between the breach and the resulting outcome.

Legal malpractice does not include matters of strategy. However, if you lose a case due to your lawyer was not able to file the lawsuit in time, this could be malpractice.

Use of funds in a fraudulent way

One of the most common types of legal malpractice involves the misuse of funds by a lawyer. Lawyers have a fiduciary obligation with their clients and are required to act with the utmost trust and fidelity, especially when dealing with money or other property that the client has handed over to them.

If a client pays their retainer the lawyer is obligated by law to put that money in an funds that are only utilized for that particular case. 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 obligations and could be charged with legal malpractice.

Imagine, for example the scenario where a client hires an attorney to represent him in a lawsuit filed against a driver whose car struck them when they crossed the street. The client can prove the driver's negligence, and that the collision resulted in their injuries. The lawyer however fails to comply with the law and is unable to file the case on time. The lawsuit is dismissed, and the victim suffers financial losses as a result of the lawyer's error.

The time for suing an attorney for malpractice is limited by a statute-of-limitations that can be difficult to calculate in a case where a loss or injury resulted from the attorney's negligence. A New York attorney who is proficient in malpractice lawyer law will be able to explain the statute of limitations and assist you in determining if you have a case that is eligible for a lawsuit.

Do not follow the rules of professional conduct

Legal malpractice law firms occurs when a lawyer fails adhere to the generally accepted standards of professional practice and causes harm to the client. It requires the same four elements as the majority of torts, which include an attorney-client relationship as well as a duty, breach, and proximate cause.

A few examples of malpractice include lawyers who mix personal and trust funds, failing to timely to file a suit within the time limits, taking cases in which they're not competent, failing to carry out a conflict check and not being up to the latest court proceedings, or any new developments in law that could impact the case. Lawyers have a responsibility to communicate with their clients in a reasonable manner. This is not limited to emails and faxes, but also includes returning phone calls promptly.

It is also possible for attorneys to engage in fraud. This could be accomplished by lying to the client or any other person involved in the investigation. In this situation, it is important to have the facts in hand so that you can determine if the attorney was being untruthful. It also constitutes a breach of the contract between attorney and client if an attorney accepts an assignment that is not within the scope of their area of expertise and fails to inform the client about this or suggest that they seek separate counsel.

Failure to provide advice

When a client employs an attorney, it indicates that they've reached a point at which their legal situation is beyond their expertise and experience and that they are unable to resolve it on their own. The lawyer has a duty to inform clients of the advantages of the case, the risks and costs involved, as well as their rights. If an attorney does not do this, they could be guilty of malpractice.

Many legal malpractice cases are the result of poor communication between attorneys and their clients. Attorneys may not respond to the phone or fail inform their clients about a specific decision made in their behalf. Attorneys may not be able to communicate crucial details about a case or not disclose any known issues with a transaction.

It is possible to sue an attorney for negligence, but the client must prove that they were able to recover financial losses as a result of the negligence of the lawyer. These losses must be documented. This requires evidence, such as email files and client files, or other correspondence between an attorney and a client, as well bills. In cases involving theft or fraud, it may also be necessary to engage an expert witness to review the case.

Inability to Follow the Law

Attorneys are obligated to follow the law and comprehend the law's implications in particular circumstances. If they don't and they don't, they could be found guilty of malpractice lawyers (Read Mallangpeach). Examples include mixing funds from clients with theirs and using settlement proceeds to pay for personal expenses, and not performing basic due diligence.

Another example of legal malpractice is the failure to file a lawsuit within the statute of limitations, missing court filing deadlines or not adhering to the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys must declare any conflicts of interest. They must inform clients of any financial or personal interest which could affect their judgment when representing them.

Attorneys must also adhere to 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 suit, the plaintiff must prove that the lawyer breached their duty of care. It can be challenging to establish that the defendant's inaction or actions caused damage. It's not enough to prove that the result of the negligence of the attorney was bad and for a malpractice case to succeed, it needs to be demonstrated that there's an excellent chance that the plaintiff would have won their case should the defendant followed the usual procedure.