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 financial, legal or other negative consequences for you. You must prove an immediate connection between the attorney's negligence and the negative result.
Legal malpractice does not include matters of strategy. However, if you lose a lawsuit because your lawyer failed to submit the lawsuit on time it could be a case of malpractice.
The misuse of funds
One of the most popular kinds of legal malpractice is the misuse of funds by a lawyer. Lawyers have a fiduciary connection with their clients and are expected to act with the highest degree of trust and fidelity, particularly when handling funds or other property that the client has handed over to them.
When a client makes a retainer to their attorney, the lawyer is required to deposit that money into a separate escrow account designated for that case's purpose only. If the attorney utilizes the escrow funds to pursue personal goals or mix it with their own funds it is in violation of their fiduciary obligations and could be accused of legal negligence.
Imagine, for instance, that a client hires an attorney to represent them in an action against a motorist who struck them as they were crossing the street. The client can prove the driver's negligence as well as that the accident led to their injuries. Their lawyer fails to comply with the law and is unable to 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 time limit to sue an attorney for
malpractice attorneys is limited by a statute of limitation, which can be tricky to determine in cases where an injury or loss was the result of the negligence of the attorney. A reputable New York attorney with experience in the field of
Malpractice Lawyers law can explain the time limit to you and assist you to determine if your situation is a suitable candidate for a legal malpractice lawsuit.
Disobedience to the Rules of Professional Conduct
Legal malpractice is when an attorney does not adhere to the 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.
A few examples of malpractice include the lawyer mixing personal and trust funds, failing to timely to file suit within the timeframes, pursuing cases where they are not competent, failing to carry out an effective conflict check, and not keeping up to the current court proceedings, or any new legal developments that could impact the case. Lawyers must communicate with their clients in a timely manner. This doesn't just mean emails and faxes, but also returning telephone calls promptly.
Attorneys can also commit fraud. This can occur in a variety of ways, including lying to the client or to anyone else involved in the case. It is important to know the facts so you can determine if the attorney was insincere. It is also a breach of the contract between attorney and client if an attorney takes on a case that is outside of their expertise and does not inform the client of this or advise them to seek separate counsel.
Inability to inform
When a client employs an attorney, it means they've reached a point where their legal situation is beyond their ability and experience and they are no longer able to resolve it on their own. It is the job of the lawyer to inform clients of the merits of a particular case along with the costs and risks associated with it, and their rights. Lawyers who fail to do this could be held accountable.
Many legal malpractice cases are the result of poor communication between lawyers, and their clients. An attorney may not return calls or fail to inform their clients about a specific decision they made on their behalf. Attorneys may also not communicate important details regarding a particular case, or fail to disclose known issues in a transaction.
It is possible to sue an attorney for malpractice, but a client must prove that they suffered financial losses due to due to the negligence of the attorney. The losses should be documented. This requires evidence, such as email files and client files, or other correspondence between an attorney and a client as well as bills. In the event of fraud or theft An expert witness could be required to review the case.
Inability to Follow the Law
Attorneys are required to adhere to the law and know the law's implications in particular circumstances. If they fail to do so, they could be guilty of malpractice. Examples include mixing client funds with their own, using settlement proceeds to pay for personal expenses, and failing to do basic due diligence.
Other instances of legal malpractice include failing 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 must declare any conflicts of interest. They must inform clients of any financial or personal interest that could affect their judgment when representing them.
Attorneys must also follow the instructions of their clients. If a client instructs them to take a particular action an attorney must follow the instructions unless there is an obvious reason that it would not be advantageous or is not feasible.
In order to win a malpractice lawsuit 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 damage. It's not enough to prove the result of the attorney's negligence was negative and for a malpractice case to succeed, it needs to be shown that there is an extremely high chance that the plaintiff could have won their case if the defendant had followed the standard procedure.