How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice

To sue your attorney on charges of malpractice, you must prove that their breach of duty caused legal, monetary or other negative outcomes for you. It is not enough to show that the attorney's negligence was negligent but you must also prove a direct link between the breach and the negative outcome.

Legal malpractice does not include issues of strategy. If you lose a case due to your lawyer failed to submit the lawsuit on time it could be a case of malpractice.

Fraud in the use of funds

One of the most popular types of legal malpractice is a lawyer's misuse of funds. Attorneys have a fiduciary relationship with their clients and are required to behave with a high level of trust and fidelity, particularly when handling funds or other property that the client has left to them.

If a client pays their retainer the lawyer is obligated by law to put that money into an escrow fund that is only utilized for that particular case. If the attorney mixes the escrow account with personal funds or makes use of it for other purposes, this is a clear violation of fiduciary duty and could be considered legal negligence.

For instance, suppose that a client employs their attorney to represent them in a lawsuit against a driver who struck them as they were walking along the street. The client is able to prove the driver's negligence and the collision resulted in the injuries they sustained. The lawyer, however, misses the statute and is not able to file the case in time. Therefore, the case is dismissed and the victim suffers financial losses due to the lawyer's mistake.

The time to sue an attorney for negligence is governed by a statute that limits the time for suing that can be difficult to determine in a situation where a loss or injury was the result of the negligence of the attorney. A competent New York attorney with experience in the field of malpractice law will be able to explain the time limit to you and assist you determine if your case is a good fit for a legal malpractice suit.

Failure to adhere to the professional rules of conduct

Legal malpractice occurs when a lawyer does not follow generally accepted professional standards and causes harm to the client. It is based on the same four elements as most torts, which include 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 where they are not competent, failing to carry out an effective conflict check, and not staying up to date on court proceedings or any new legal developments that could affect the case. Lawyers also have a responsibility to communicate with clients in a reasonable way. This doesn't only apply to email and fax as well as answering phone calls promptly.

Attorneys are also able to commit fraud. It can be done in a variety of ways, such as lying to the client or anyone involved in a case. It is crucial to know the facts so that you can determine if the attorney is deceitful. It is also a breach of the attorney-client agreement if an attorney decides to take on an assignment that is not within the scope of their expertise and fails to inform the client about this or advise them to seek separate counsel.

Inability to advise

When a client employs a lawyer, it means that their legal situation has exceeded their skills and knowledge. They are unable solve the issue by themselves. It is the attorney's responsibility to inform clients about the merits of a case in addition to the costs and risk associated with it, and their rights. If a lawyer fails to do this, they may be guilty of malpractice.

Many legal smiths station malpractice attorney claims stem from of poor communication between attorneys and their clients. A lawyer may not answer a phone call or fail to inform their clients of a specific decision taken on their behalf. Attorneys may also fail to communicate important details about a case or fail to divulge any issues with the transaction.

It is possible to sue an attorney for negligence, but the client must prove they suffered financial losses due to due to the negligence of the attorney. The losses must be documented. This requires evidence, such as email files and client files, or any other correspondence between an attorney and a client as well bills. In the event of fraud, or theft An expert witness could be needed to investigate the case.

Failure to Follow the Law

Attorneys must be in compliance with the law, and know what it means in specific situations. If they don't or don't, they could be accused of misconduct. Examples include mixing client funds with theirs using settlement proceeds to pay for personal expenses, and failing to exercise basic due diligence.

Another instance of legal misconduct includes failure to file an action within the statute of limitations, ignoring court filing deadlines and not adhering to the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys are also obligated to disclose any conflicts of conflicts of interest. They must inform clients of any personal or financial interest that could influence their judgement when representing them.

Attorneys are also required to adhere to the instructions of their clients. Attorneys are required to follow the directions of clients unless it is evident that the action will not be beneficial.

To win a malpractice suit the plaintiff has to prove that the lawyer breached their duty of care. It can be challenging to establish that the defendant's inaction or actions caused harm. It's not enough to show that the result of the attorney's negligence was bad and for a malpractice case to be successful, it must be shown that there is an extremely high chance that the plaintiff would have won their case when the defendant had acted in accordance with the standard procedure.