How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice
To sue your attorney on charges of malpractice, you must demonstrate that their negligence caused financial, legal or other negative outcomes for you. You must demonstrate that there was a direct link between your attorney's incompetence and the negative outcome.
Matters of strategy do not be considered legal
malpractice law firm, however, the lawyer you hire fails to file a lawsuit in time and you lose the case that could be a form of
Malpractice Lawyers.
Inappropriate use of funds
A misuse of funds by a lawyer is among the most prevalent types of legal malpractice. Lawyers have a fiduciary obligation with their clients and are expected to behave with the highest degree of trust and fidelity, particularly when handling funds or other property that the client has given to them.
When a client makes a payment for their retainer the lawyer is obligated by law to deposit the money into an funds that are only specifically used for the particular case. If the attorney co-mingles the escrow account with their own personal funds or makes use of it for other purposes this is a blatant violation of fiduciary duty and could be considered legal negligence.
Imagine, for example that a customer hires an attorney to represent the client in a lawsuit filed against a driver who hit them as they crossed the street. The client has the ability to prove driver's negligence, and that the collision resulted in their injuries. However, their lawyer is not aware of the deadline and is unable to file the case within the timeframe. The lawsuit is dismissed and the person who was injured suffers a financial loss because of the lawyer's mistake.
The time limit to sue an attorney for malpractice is limited by a statute-of-limitations which can be a challenge to calculate in a case where an injury or loss occurred as the result of the attorney's negligence. A New York attorney who is experienced in malpractice law can explain the statute of limitations and help you determine if you have a case which is suitable for a lawsuit.
Failure to follow the rules of professional conduct
Legal malpractice occurs when an attorney does not adhere to the generally accepted professional standards and causes harm to the client. It requires the four elements of most torts: an attorney-client relation and a duty, breach and the proximate cause.
Some examples of malpractice are the lawyer combining their personal and trust funds, not submitting claims in time to file suit within time limits, taking cases in which they aren't competent, failing to conduct an investigation into conflicts and not being up-to date on court proceedings or any recent developments in law that could impact the case. Lawyers must communicate with their clients in a timely manner. This does not only include email and fax as well as answering phone calls in a timely manner.
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 anyone else involved in the case. It is crucial to know the facts in order to determine whether the attorney was dishonest. It's also a violation of the attorney-client contract if an attorney is assigned an issue that is outside of their expertise and does not inform the client of this or advise them to seek separate counsel.
Failure to provide advice
If a client engages an attorney, this means they have reached the stage where their legal issue is beyond their capabilities and experience, and they are no longer able to resolve it by themselves. The lawyer has a duty to inform clients about the advantages of the case, the potential risks and costs involved, and their rights. If an attorney does not do this, they may be guilty of malpractice.
Many legal malpractice claims stem from of poor communication between lawyers, and their clients. For example, an attorney might not answer phone calls or fail to notify their clients of the decision made on their behalf. An attorney might also fail to communicate important details about a case or fail to inform clients of issues in the transaction.
It is possible to sue an attorney for negligence, but a plaintiff must prove that they have suffered financial losses due to due to the negligence of the attorney. These losses must be documented, which requires documents such as client files emails, client files, and other correspondence between the attorney and the client, as well bills. In the event of theft or fraud it could also be necessary to get an expert witness to look into the case.
Inability to Follow the Law
Attorneys must be in compliance with the law and know the law's implications for specific circumstances. They could be found guilty of malpractice if they don't. Examples include combining client funds with their own, or using settlement proceeds to pay personal expenses, or failing to perform basic due diligence.
Another instance of legal
malpractice lawyers is the failure to file a lawsuit within the timeframe of limitations, missing deadlines for filing in court and not observing the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys are also required to disclose any significant conflicts of interest. This means they must inform clients of any personal or financial concerns that could impact their judgment when representing them.
Additionally, attorneys are required to follow instructions from their clients. If a client directs the attorney to take specific actions, the attorney must follow those instructions unless there is an obvious reason that it is not beneficial or even feasible.
In order to win a malpractice lawsuit the plaintiff has to prove that the lawyer breached their duty of care. It can be difficult to prove that the defendant's lapses or actions caused damage. It's not enough to prove that the result of the attorney's negligence was bad and for a malpractice case to be successful, it must be demonstrated that there's an extremely high chance that the plaintiff would have prevailed should the defendant followed the usual procedure.