How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice

To sue your attorney for negligence, you must show that the breach of duty resulted in financial, legal or other negative consequences for you. It's not enough to demonstrate that the attorney's negligence was negligent; you must also show an immediate link between the breach and the negative outcome.

Legal malpractice does not cover issues of strategy. If you lose a lawsuit because your lawyer was not able to file the lawsuit in time this could be considered negligence.

The misuse of funds

A misuse of funds by lawyers is among 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 money or other property the client has trusted them with.

When a client pays their retainer the lawyer is obligated by law to deposit the money in an funds that are only used for that particular case. If the attorney combines the escrow account with personal funds or uses it for other purposes, this is a clear breach of fiduciary duty, and could constitute legal misconduct.

Imagine, for instance, that a client hires their attorney to represent them in an action against a driver who hit them as they were walking across the street. The client can prove the driver's negligence as well as that the collision resulted in the injuries they sustained. Their lawyer, however, misses the statute and is unable file the case in time. The lawsuit is dismissed, and the person who was injured is financially harmed because of the lawyer's mistake.

The statute of limitations restricts the amount of time you can claim a lawyer's negligence. It is often difficult to determine if an injury or loss is caused by negligence of the lawyer. A competent New York attorney with experience in the field of malpractice law can explain the time limit to you and help you determine if your case is a good candidate for a legal malpractice suit.

Failure to Follow the Rules of Professional Conduct

Legal malpractice occurs when an attorney fails to adhere to generally accepted standards of professional conduct, and causes harm to the client. It requires the four elements of most torts: an attorney-client relation as well as breach of duty and proximate cause.

Some examples of malpractice are the lawyer combining their personal and trust funds, failing timely to file suit within statute of limitations, pursuing cases where they are not competent, failing to perform an examination of conflicts and not being up to the current court proceedings, or any new developments in law that could impact the case. Lawyers also have a duty to communicate with clients in a fair manner. This does not only include emails and faxes, but also includes returning telephone calls promptly.

It is also possible for attorneys to engage in fraud. This can happen in a variety of ways, such as lying to the client or to anyone involved in a case. In this scenario it is crucial to have all the facts at your possession to determine if the attorney was being insincere. It is also a breach of the attorney-client agreement if an attorney accepts a case that is outside of their expertise and does not inform the client about this or suggest that they seek separate counsel.

Inability to provide advice

If a client engages an attorney, it indicates that they have reached the stage where their legal issue is beyond their own skill and experience and they are unable to resolve it by themselves. Lawyers are required to inform clients about the importance of the case, the risks and costs involved, and their rights. If a lawyer fails to do this, they could be liable for heath malpractice law firm.

Many legal malpractice law firm claims result from a lack of communication between attorneys and their clients. For instance, an attorney might not return calls or fail to inform their clients of a decision made on their behalf. An attorney may also fail to communicate important information regarding a case or fail to reveal any issues with an transaction.

A client can sue an attorney if they have suffered financial losses as a result of the negligence of the lawyer. The losses must be documented, which requires evidence such as client files emails, client files, and other correspondence between the lawyer and the client, and bills. In cases of fraud or theft, it may also be required to engage an expert witness to review the case.

Failure to Follow the Law

Attorneys are bound by the law and know the laws that apply to specific situations. They could be found guilty of malpractice if they do not. Examples include mixing client funds with their own using settlement proceeds to pay for Larchmont malpractice lawyer personal expenses and not performing basic due diligence.

Other examples of legal malpractice are failure to file a lawsuit within the statute of limitations and not filing the suit by the deadlines set by the court and not complying with the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys are also required to disclose any material conflicts of interest. This means they must inform clients of any personal or financial interest that could influence their judgment in representing them.

Attorneys must also adhere to the instructions of their clients. If a client instructs them to take particular action the attorney must comply with those instructions unless there's an obvious reason that it would not be advantageous or is not feasible.

In order to win a malpractice suit, the plaintiff has to prove that the lawyer violated his duty of care. It isn't easy to prove that the defendant's lapses or actions caused harm. It's not enough to prove the result of the attorney's negligence was bad in order for a Casper Malpractice Lawsuit [Vimeo.Com] claim to succeed, it needs to be proved that there is a high probability that the plaintiff could have won the case when the defendant had acted in accordance with standard practice.