How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice
If you want to sue your attorney for malpractice lawyers malpractice, you have to 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 it is also necessary to establish that there is a direct connection between the breach and the undesirable outcome.
Legal malpractice attorneys is not a matters of strategy. However, if you lose a case because your lawyer was not able to file the lawsuit in time this could be considered an act of Malpractice Lawyers.
The misuse of funds
Fraud in the handling of funds by lawyers is one of the most common kinds of legal malpractice. Lawyers are legally bound by a fiduciary responsibility to their clients and must act with integrity and fidelity when handling funds or other property the client has entrusted them with.
When a client makes a retainer, their lawyer is required to put that money into a separate escrow account that is specifically destined for the purpose of the case only. If the lawyer uses the escrow fund for personal purposes or co-mingles it with their own funds and funds, they are in breach of their fiduciary obligations and could be accused of legal malpractice.
For instance, suppose that a customer hires their attorney to represent them in a lawsuit against a driver who slammed into them as they were crossing the street. The client is able to prove the driver’s negligence as well as that the collision caused the injuries they sustained. The lawyer, however, fails to comply with the law and is not able to file the case in time. Consequently, the lawsuit is dismissed and the person who was hurt is financially harmed due to the lawyer’s mistake.
The time limit to sue an attorney for negligence is governed by a statute that limits the time for suing which can be difficult to determine in cases where a loss or injury occurred as the result of the negligence of the attorney. A licensed New York attorney with experience in the field of malpractice law can explain the statute of limitations to you and help determine if your situation is a good candidate for a legal malpractice suit.
Do not follow the professional rules of conduct
Legal malpractice is when an attorney fails to follow generally accepted standards of professional conduct, and harms the client. It is the result of four elements of the most common torts: an attorney-client relationship, a duty, breach and the proximate cause.
Some examples of malpractice include who has a personal and trust account funds, failing to timely file suit within the time limit, taking on cases in which they are not competent, not conducting a conflict-check, and not keeping up-to-date on court proceedings or new developments in law that may affect the case. Lawyers are accountable to communicate with their clients in a fair and reasonable manner. This is not limited to email and faxing and includes also answering phone calls in a timely manner.
Attorneys are also able to commit fraud. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as lying to the client or to anyone involved in a case. It is important to know the facts so that you can determine if the attorney was insincere. It also constitutes a breach of the attorney-client contract when an attorney decides to take on an assignment that is not within the scope of their area of expertise and does not inform the client about this or suggest that they seek separate counsel.
Failure to Advise
If a client decides to hire an attorney, it indicates that they’ve reached a point at which their legal situation is beyond their expertise or experience and they are unable to solve it on their own. It is the attorney’s responsibility to provide advice to clients regarding the advantages of a case along with the costs and risks involved and their rights. An attorney who fails to provide this advice could be found guilty.
Many legal malpractice claims are the result of poor communication between attorneys and their clients. An attorney might not return a phone call or fail to inform their clients of a specific decision that they have made on their behalf. An attorney might also neglect to provide important information regarding the case or fail divulge any issues with a transaction.
A client may sue an attorney if they’ve suffered financial losses as a result of the lawyer’s negligence. These losses should be documented. This requires evidence, such as client files and emails, or other correspondence between an attorney and client, as well bills. In cases of fraud or theft it could be required to get an expert witness to look into the case.
Failure to Follow the Law
Attorneys must abide by the law and know how it applies to specific circumstances. If they fail to do so and they don’t, they could be found guilty of malpractice. Examples include mixing funds from clients with theirs or using settlement funds to pay for personal expenses, and failing to do basic due diligence.
Other examples of legal malpractice include failing to file a suit within the statute of limitation, missing court filing deadlines and not complying with the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys must disclose any conflicts of interests. They must inform clients of any financial or personal interests that could influence their judgement when representing them.
Additionally, attorneys are required to follow the instructions of their clients. If a customer instructs the attorney to take specific actions then the attorney must follow the instructions, unless there’s an obvious reason that it is not beneficial or even feasible.
To win a malpractice suit the plaintiff must demonstrate that the lawyer breached their duty of care. It isn’t easy to establish that the defendant’s inaction or actions caused harm. It’s also not enough to prove the result of the attorney’s negligence was bad in order for a malpractice claim to be successful, it has to be demonstrated that there’s a high probability that the plaintiff could have won the case in the event that the defendant had followed the accepted practice.