How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice
If you wish to sue your attorney over malpractice, you must demonstrate that their breach of duty caused legal, monetary or other negative outcomes for you. You must prove that there is a direct link between the attorney's negligence and the negative results.
Legal malpractice does not cover issues of strategy. If you lose a case due to your lawyer didn't file the lawsuit on time, this could be an act of malpractice.
The misuse of funds
One of the most popular types of legal malpractice involves the misuse of funds by lawyers. Attorneys have a fiduciary relationship with their clients and are required to behave with the highest degree of trust and fidelity, especially when handling funds or other property that the client has given to them.
If a client pays their retainer and the lawyer is required by law to put that money in a separate funds that are only used for that particular case. If the attorney mixes the escrow account with their own personal funds, or uses it for any other purpose this is a blatant breach of fiduciary responsibility and could constitute legal
malpractice lawyer.
Imagine, for instance, that a client hires their attorney to represent them in the case of a driver who struck them as they were crossing the street. The client is able to prove the driver's negligence, and that the collision caused the injuries they sustained. However, their lawyer misses the deadline and is incapable of bringing the case within the timeframe. The lawsuit is dismissed and the victim is financially harmed because of the lawyer's error.
The time for suing an attorney for negligence is governed by a statute of limitations which can be difficult to calculate in a situation where a loss or injury resulted from the attorney's negligence. A New York attorney who is knowledgeable about malpractice law will be able to explain the statute of limitations and assist you in determining whether you have a case which is suitable for a lawsuit.
Failure to follow the Rules of Professional Conduct
Legal malpractice is when a lawyer fails adhere to the generally accepted standards of professional practice and results in harm to the client. It requires the four elements of most torts: an attorney-client relation and a duty, breach and proximate cause.
Some examples of malpractice are a lawyer mixing their personal and trust funds, not submitting claims in time to file suit within time limits, taking cases in which they're not competent, failing to carry out an effective conflict check, and not being up-to date on court proceedings or any other 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 email or fax, but also includes returning telephone calls promptly.
It is also possible for
attorneys to engage in fraud. It can be done by lying to the client, or any other person involved in the investigation. In this instance it is imperative to have the facts on your possession to determine if the attorney was being insincere. A breach of the attorney-client agreement is when an attorney decides to take a case outside their area of expertise without advising the client or soliciting independent counsel.
Inability to advise
When a client employs an attorney, it implies that their legal issues have exceeded their skills and knowledge. They are unable to solve the problem on their own. The lawyer has a duty to inform clients of the advantages of the case, the risks and costs involved, and their rights. Lawyers who fail to do this could be liable.
Many legal malpractice claims result from poor communication between attorneys and their clients. For instance attorneys may not return phone calls or fail to notify their clients of a decision they made on their behalf. Attorneys may also fail to share important information about an instance or fail to identify any issues with an transaction.
A client can sue an attorney if they have suffered financial losses due to the negligence of the lawyer. These losses should be documented. This requires evidence, such as email files and client files, or any other correspondence between an attorney and a client, and also bills. In the case of fraud or theft an expert witness could be required to examine the case.
Inability to Follow the Law
Attorneys are bound by the law and comprehend the law's implications in particular circumstances. If they fail to do so or don't, they could be accused of malpractice. Examples include mixing funds from clients with their own or using settlement funds to pay for personal expenses, and not doing basic due diligence.
Other examples of legal misconduct include failure to file a suit within the time limit or missing deadlines for filing with the court and not adhering to the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys are also required to disclose any material conflicts of conflicts of interest. They must inform clients of any personal or financial interest that might affect their judgment when representing them.
Finally, attorneys are obligated to abide by the instructions of their clients. Attorneys must follow the instructions of clients, unless it is clear that the act would not be beneficial.
To win a malpractice lawsuit the plaintiff has to prove that the lawyer breached their duty of care. It can be challenging to prove that the defendant's actions or actions resulted in damage. It isn't enough to show that the attorney's negligence resulted in a bad outcome. A malpractice claim must also show that there was a significant likelihood that the plaintiff's lawsuit would have been successful if the defendant had followed normal procedures.