How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice
To claim a lawyer's negligence, you must to prove that the breach resulted in negative financial, legal or other repercussions for you. You must show a direct connection between the attorney's incompetence and the negative outcome.
Legal
Malpractice lawyers doesn't include issues of strategy. If you lose a case because your lawyer was not able to submit the lawsuit on time, this could be an act of malpractice.
The misuse of funds
One of the most common kinds of legal malpractice is a lawyer's misuse of funds. Attorneys have a fiduciary relationship with their clients and are required to behave with the highest degree of trust and fidelity, particularly when handling money or other property that the client has given to them.
If a client pays retainer to their lawyer, the lawyer is required to put the money into a separate escrow account that is specifically designated for the specific purpose of the case only. If the attorney co-mingles the account with their own personal funds, or uses it for other purposes, this is a clear breach of fiduciary duty, and could result in legal misconduct.
For instance, suppose that a client employs their attorney to represent them in the case of a driver who struck them as they were walking across the street. The client is able to prove the driver's negligence and that the accident led to the injuries they sustained. However, their lawyer is not aware of the statute of limitations and is not able to file the case within the timeframe. The lawsuit is dismissed and the injured party is liable for financial losses due to the lawyer's error.
The statute of limitations limit the time that you can claim a lawyer's negligence. It can be a challenge to determine when the loss or injury was caused by the negligence of an attorney. A reputable New York attorney with experience in the field of malpractice law will be able to explain the statute of limitations to you and help determine if your case is suitable for a legal malpractice lawsuit.
Infractions to the professional rules of conduct
Legal malpractice is when an attorney fails to adhere to generally accepted professional standards, and causes harm to the client. It is a requirement of the four elements of the most common torts: an attorney-client relationship the breach of a duty and proximate cause.
Some examples of malpractice include a lawyer mixing their personal and trust account funds, failing to bring suit within the statute of limitations or taking on cases in which they are not competent, not conducting an investigation into conflicts, and not keeping up to date with court proceedings or any new developments in the law that may affect the case. Lawyers also have a duty to communicate with clients in a timely manner. This doesn't just mean emails and faxes, but also resolving telephone calls promptly.
Attorneys are also able to commit fraud. This can be done by lying to the client or any other person involved in the investigation. It is important to know the facts to determine if the lawyer was deceitful. It is also a breach of the attorney-client contract if an attorney accepts an issue that is outside of their expertise and fails to inform the client about this or recommend seeking separate counsel.
Failure to Advise
When a client engages an attorney, it implies that their legal issues have become beyond their skill and knowledge. They cannot resolve the issue by themselves. It is the job of the lawyer to advise clients on the merits of a case along with the costs and risks associated with it, and their rights. If an attorney does not do this, they could be guilty of malpractice.
Many legal
malpractice law firms claims result from a lack of communication between attorneys and their clients. An attorney might not return a calls or fail to inform their clients of a certain decision that they have made on their behalf. An attorney might also neglect to provide important information regarding an instance or fail to reveal any problems that may arise from transactions.
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 requires evidence such as client files, emails and other correspondence between the attorney and the client, as well as bills. In the case of theft or fraud It may be necessary to get an expert witness to look into the case.
Inability to Follow the Law
Attorneys are obligated to follow the law and know how it applies in specific circumstances. They could be found guilty of malpractice if they don't. Examples include mixing funds from clients with theirs and using settlement proceeds to pay for personal expenses and failing to exercise basic due diligence.
Another type of legal malpractice is the failure to file a lawsuit within the statute of limitations, ignoring court filing deadlines and not observing the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys must disclose any conflicts of interest. This means that they must inform clients of any personal or financial concerns that could impact their decision-making process when representing them.
Attorneys must also follow the instructions of their clients. If a client instructs them to take a specific action an attorney must follow the instructions, unless there's an obvious reason that it would not be beneficial or feasible.
In order to prevail in a malpractice suit the plaintiff must show that the lawyer breached their duty of care. This isn't easy, since it requires proof that the defendant's actions or inaction caused damages. It's not enough to prove the result of the attorney's negligence was negative in order for a malpractice claim to succeed, it needs to be proved that there is a high probability that the plaintiff could have won their case should the defendant followed the standard procedure.