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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 effects for you. It's not enough to show that the negligence of the attorney was a problem; you must also show an immediate link between the breach and the resulting outcome.

Matters of strategy do not count as legal malpractice but if your lawyer fails to file a lawsuit on time and you lose the case, this could be a type of malpractice.

Use of funds in a fraudulent way

A misuse of funds by lawyers is one of the most frequent types of legal negligence. Lawyers have a fiduciary obligation with their clients and are expected to behave with the utmost trust and fidelity, particularly when handling funds or other property that the client has given to them.

If a client pays their retainer the lawyer is obligated by law to deposit the money in an escrow fund that is only used for that particular case. If the lawyer co-mingles the escrow account with personal funds, or uses it for other purposes this is a blatant breach of the fiduciary obligation and could result in legal fraud.

Imagine, for instance that a customer hires an attorney to represent him in a lawsuit against a motorist whose car hit them as they crossed the street. The client has evidence that the driver was negligent and can show that the accident caused their injuries. However, their lawyer fails to comply with the deadline and is not able to file the case within the timeframe. Thus, the lawsuit is dismissed and the victim suffers financial losses as a result of the lawyer's mistake.

The statute of limitations restricts the time it takes to bring a lawsuit against a lawyer for malpractice. It can be a challenge to determine when an injury or loss is caused by the negligence of an attorney. A New York attorney who is proficient in malpractice law can explain the statute of limitations and help you decide if you are eligible for an action.

Inability to follow the Rules of Professional Conduct

Legal malpractice is when an attorney does not adhere to generally accepted professional standards and causes harm to the client. It is required to meet the four components of most torts: an attorney-client relation and a duty, breach and the proximate cause.

A few common examples of malpractice lawsuits include commingling their personal and trust account funds, failing to make a claim within the timeframe of the statute of limitations and taking on cases where they aren't competent, not performing an investigation into conflicts, and not keeping up-to-date with court proceedings or new developments in the law that may affect the case. Lawyers are required to communicate with their clients in a reasonable manner. This doesn't just mean email and faxes but also returning telephone calls promptly.

It is also possible for lawyers to commit fraud. This can be done in a variety of ways, including lying to the client or to anyone else involved in the case. In this scenario it is crucial to have the facts on the hands of the investigator to determine if the lawyer was being insincere. It's also a violation of the attorney-client contract when an attorney takes on cases that are outside of their expertise and does not inform the client of this or recommend seeking separate counsel.

Inability to advise

If a client decides to hire an attorney, it indicates that they've reached a stage where their legal issue is beyond their own skill and experience and that they are unable to solve it by themselves. The lawyer is required to inform clients about the importance of the case, the potential risks and costs involved, and their rights. If an attorney fails to do this, they could be liable for malpractice.

Many legal malpractice lawyer cases stem from poor communication between attorneys and their clients. An attorney might not return a phone calls or fail to inform their clients about a specific decision taken on their behalf. An attorney might also neglect to disclose important information about the case or fail disclose known problems with transactions.

It is possible to bring a lawsuit against an attorney for negligence, but a plaintiff must prove that they were able to recover financial losses as a result of the negligence of the lawyer. The losses must be documented, which requires evidence like client files, emails and other correspondence between the attorney and the client, along with bills. In cases of fraud or theft an expert witness could be needed to investigate the case.

Inability to Follow the Law

Attorneys are required to adhere to the law and understand the way it is applied in particular circumstances. They could be found guilty of misconduct in the event that they fail to follow. Examples include mixing funds from clients with their own, using settlement proceeds to pay for personal expenses and failing to do basic due diligence.

Another instance of legal malpractice is failure to file a lawsuit within the statute of limitations, not meeting deadlines for filing court documents, and not following the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys must declare any conflicts of interest. They must disclose to clients any personal or financial interest that could affect their judgment when representing them.

Attorneys are also required to follow the instructions of their clients. Attorneys must abide by the instructions of clients unless it is clear that the action is not beneficial.

To win a malpractice lawsuit the plaintiff must demonstrate that the lawyer did not fulfill his duty of care. This isn't easy, since it requires proof that the defendant's actions or inaction caused damages. It's not enough to show that the result of the negligence of the attorney was bad; for a malpractice claim to succeed, it must be proven that there is a high probability that the plaintiff would have prevailed should the defendant followed standard practice.