How to Sue Your Attorney for malpractice lawyers (try Maxtremer)
To sue an attorney for malpractice, you have to show that the breach of duty had negative legal, financial or other implications for you. You must demonstrate a direct connection between the attorney’s negligence and the negative results.
Legal malpractice does not include issues of strategy. However, if you lose a case because your lawyer failed to file the lawsuit on time it could be a case of the result of malpractice.
Fraud in the use of funds
One of the most frequent kinds of legal malpractices is the misuse of funds by lawyers. Attorneys are required to fulfill a fiduciary duty to their clients and must act with trust and fidelity when handling money or other property the client has given them.
When a client makes retainer fees, their attorney is required to place the money into an separate escrow account that is designated for that case’s purpose only. If the attorney uses the escrow fund for personal purposes or co-mingles it with their own funds it is in violation of their fiduciary duties and could be accused of legal negligence.
As an example, suppose that a client hires their attorney to represent them in an action against a motorist who hit them as they were walking across the street. The client has evidence that the driver was negligent, and can show that the accident caused their injuries. But, their lawyer violates the deadline and is unable to file the case in time. The lawsuit is dismissed and the person who was injured is liable for financial loss as a result of the lawyer’s mistake.
A statute of limitations limits the time that you can claim a lawyer’s negligence. It can be difficult to determine if an injury or loss was due to the negligence of the lawyer. A New York attorney who is experienced in malpractice law will be able to explain the statute of limitations and help you decide if you have a case that is eligible for a lawsuit.
Failure to follow the rules of professional conduct
Legal malpractice occurs when a lawyer fails adhere to the generally accepted standards of professional practice and causes harm to the client. It requires the four elements of the most common torts: an attorney-client relation the breach of a duty and the proximate cause.
A few examples of malpractice include lawyers who mix personal and trust funds, not submitting claims in time to file a suit within the statute of limitations, pursuing cases where they are not competent, failing to conduct an investigation into conflicts and not staying up to date on court proceedings or any new legal developments that could impact the case. Lawyers are required to communicate with their clients in a reasonable way. This does not only include emails and faxes and also includes responding to phone calls in a timely manner.
Attorneys can also commit fraud. It can be done in a variety of ways, such as lying to the client or anyone else involved in the case. It is important to know the facts so that you can determine if the attorney is dishonest. It is also a breach of the attorney-client agreement if an attorney accepts an issue that is outside of their area of expertise and fails to inform the client of this or advise them to seek separate counsel.
Inability to inform
When a client hires an attorney, it means they’ve reached a stage where their legal problem is beyond their expertise and experience and that they are unable to resolve it on their own. The lawyer is required to inform clients of the benefits of the case, the potential risks and costs involved, and their rights. When an attorney fails to perform this, they could be liable for malpractice.
Many legal malpractice claims stem from of poor communication between attorneys and their clients. For example attorneys may not answer phone calls or fail to inform their clients of a decision made on their behalf. Attorneys may also fail to disclose important information about an instance or fail to disclose known problems with the transaction.
A client may sue an attorney if they’ve suffered financial losses as a result of the lawyer’s negligence. The losses have to be documented, which will require evidence such as files of the client email correspondence, other correspondence between the lawyer and the client, and bills. In the case of fraud or theft an expert witness could be required to examine the case.
Inability to Follow the Law
Attorneys must be in compliance with the law, and know what it means in specific circumstances. If they fail to do so then they could be accused of misconduct. Examples include mixing client funds with theirs and using settlement proceeds to pay for personal expenses, and failing to do basic due diligence.
Another example of legal malpractice is the failure to file an action within the statute of limitations, not meeting deadlines for filing court documents and not observing the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys are also required to disclose any conflict of conflicts of interest. They must disclose to clients any financial or personal interests that could affect their judgment when representing them.
Finally, attorneys are obligated to abide by the instructions of their clients. If a client asks the attorney to take specific actions an attorney must follow the instructions, unless there’s any reason that suggests it is not beneficial or feasible.
In order to prevail in a malpractice suit the plaintiff must show that the lawyer violated their duty of care. It can be challenging to establish that the defendant’s inaction or actions caused damage. It is not enough to demonstrate that the attorney’s wrongful actions caused a bad result. A malpractice claim must also prove that there was a high likelihood that the plaintiff’s lawsuit would have been won if the defendant had followed the standard procedure.