How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice

If you want to sue your attorney for malpractice, you must prove that the breach of duty resulted in legal, monetary or other negative outcomes for you. It's not enough to prove the negligence of the attorney was a problem but you must also prove an immediate link between the breach and the negative outcome.

Legal malpractice is not a issues of strategy. If you lose a case because your lawyer was not able to file the lawsuit on time this could be considered malpractice.

Misuse of Funds

Fraud in the handling of funds by a lawyer is one of the most widespread types of legal negligence. Attorneys are bound by a fiduciary obligation to their clients, and must act with integrity and fidelity when handling money or any other property that the client has given them.

When a client makes a payment for their retainer to a lawyer, they are required by law to place that money in an escrow fund that is only specifically used for the particular case. If the attorney makes use of the escrow fund for personal reasons or mixes it with their own funds, they are in violation of their fiduciary duties and could be accused of legal misconduct.

Imagine, for instance that a customer hires an attorney to represent him in a suit filed against a driver who was struck by them as they crossed the street. The client has the ability to prove driver's negligence and the collision caused the injuries they sustained. The lawyer, however, fails to comply with the law and is not able to file the case on time. Consequently, the lawsuit is dismissed and the injured party suffers financial loss as a result of 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 cases where an injury or loss occurred as the result of the negligence of the attorney. A New York attorney who is knowledgeable about malpractice law can explain the statute of limitations and help you determine if you have a case that qualifies for an action.

Failure to follow the professional rules of conduct

Legal malpractice occurs the case when a lawyer doesn't adhere to the generally accepted standards of professional practice and causes harm to the client. It is required to meet the four components of the most common torts: an attorney-client relationship and a duty, breach and the proximate cause.

Some common instances of malpractice lawyer are a lawyer commingling their personal and trust account funds, failing to timely file a lawsuit within the statute of limitations or taking on cases in which they aren't competent, failing to conduct a proper conflict check, as well as not being up-to-date with court proceedings or any new developments in the law 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 and malpractice includes also returning phone calls in a timely manner.

Attorneys can also commit fraud. This can occur in a variety of ways, including lying to the client or to anyone involved in a case. It is essential to understand the facts so that you can determine if the attorney was deceitful. It is also a breach of the attorney-client agreement if an attorney accepts an issue that is outside of their expertise and does not inform the client about this or suggest that they seek separate counsel.

Failure to Advise

When a client hires a lawyer, it signifies that their legal issue has been beyond their expertise and knowledge. They cannot resolve the issue themselves. It is the attorney's responsibility to advise clients on the merits of a particular case, the costs and risks involved, as well as their rights. If an attorney fails to perform this, they could be guilty of malpractice.

Many legal malpractice law firm claims result from a lack of communication between lawyers and their clients. A lawyer may not answer a calls or fail to inform their clients of a certain decision they made on their behalf. An attorney might also neglect to communicate important details about an instance or fail to disclose known problems with transactions.

A client may sue an attorney if they have suffered financial losses due to the lawyer's negligence. These losses must be documented, which requires documents such as client files emails, correspondence between the attorney and the 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 must abide by the law and know what it means in specific circumstances. If they don't and they don't, they could be found guilty of misconduct. Examples include mixing funds from clients with their own or using settlement funds to pay for personal expenses, and failing to do basic due diligence.

Another instance of legal misconduct includes failure to file a lawsuit within the statute of limitations, ignoring deadlines for filing with the court, and not following the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys must also declare any conflicts of interest. This means that they must inform clients of any personal or financial interest that could influence their judgment when representing them.

Attorneys are also required to follow the instructions of their clients. Attorneys must follow the instructions of clients, unless it is clear that the actions will not be beneficial.

In order to win a malpractice suit the plaintiff must show that the lawyer acted in violation of his duty of care. It can be difficult to establish that the defendant's inaction or actions caused harm. It's also not enough to prove the result of the negligence of the attorney was detrimental to be able to prove a malpractice claim. to be successful, it has to be proven that there is a high likelihood that the plaintiff could have won their case if the defendant had followed the standard procedure.