How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice
If you wish to sue your attorney over malpractice, you must prove that the breach of duty led to legal, monetary or other negative consequences for you. It’s not enough to show that the negligence of your attorney was injurious; you must also show an immediate link between the breach and the unfavorable outcome.
Legal malpractice doesn’t include issues of strategy. If you lose a case because your lawyer failed to submit the lawsuit on time This could be considered to be the result of malpractice.
Misuse of Funds
The misuse of funds by a lawyer is among the most widespread kinds of legal malpractice attorneys. Lawyers are in a fiduciary relationship with their clients and are expected to behave with a high degree of trust and fidelity, especially when dealing with money or other property that the client has left to them.
When a client is required to pay retainer fees, their attorney is required to place the money in a separate escrow account that is specifically destined for the purpose of the case only. If the attorney mixes the account with their personal funds or makes use of it for other purposes it is a clear breach of fiduciary duty, and could be considered legal fraud.
Imagine, for instance, that a client employs their attorney to represent them in an action against a driver who slammed into them as they were walking across the street. The client has proof that the driver was negligent and can demonstrate that the collision caused their injuries. However, their lawyer is not aware of the deadline and is unable to file the case within the timeframe. Therefore, the case is dismissed and the party who was injured is financially harmed as a result of the lawyer’s error.
The time for suing an attorney for negligence is governed by a statute that limits the time for suing which can be a challenge to determine in cases where a loss or injury occurred as the result of the attorney’s negligence. A competent New York attorney with experience in the field of malpractice law will be able to explain the statute of limitations to you and help determine if your situation is a suitable candidate for a legal malpractice suit.
Failure to Follow the Rules of Professional Conduct
Legal malpractice occurs when a lawyer does not adhere to the generally accepted standards of professional practice and results in harm to the client. It entails the same four elements as the majority of torts: an attorney-client relationship and a duty, a breach, and proximate causation.
Some typical examples of malpractice include a lawyer mixing their personal and trust account funds, failing to timely file a lawsuit within the timeframe set by the statute of limitations or taking on cases where they aren’t competent, not conducting a conflict-check, and not keeping up-to-date with court proceedings or any new developments in the law that could affect the case. Lawyers also have a duty to communicate with clients in a fair manner. This does not only include emails and faxes, but also the ability to return phone calls promptly.
It is also possible for lawyers to commit fraud. This could be accomplished by lying to the client or any other person involved in the case. It is essential to learn the facts so that you can determine if the attorney was deceitful. It also constitutes a breach of the attorney-client contract if an attorney takes on an issue that is outside of their area of expertise and fails to inform the client of this or suggest they seek out separate counsel.
Inability to inform
When a client employs an attorney, it indicates that they’ve reached the stage where their legal issue is beyond their own skill and experience and that they are unable to solve it by themselves. It is the attorney’s responsibility to advise clients on the advantages of a case, the costs and risks involved, as well as their rights. A lawyer who fails to do so may be liable.
Many legal malpractice cases result from a lack of communication between lawyers and their clients. For instance, an attorney might not return calls or fail to inform their clients of a decision they made on their behalf. A lawyer may also fail to provide important information regarding an instance or fail to divulge any issues with the transaction.
A client can sue an attorney if they have suffered financial losses as a result of the negligence of the lawyer. The losses should be documented. This requires evidence, like client files and emails, or any other correspondence between an attorney and a client, as well as bills. In cases of theft or fraud It may be required to engage an expert witness to review the case.
Inability to Follow the Law
Attorneys must follow the law and be aware of what it means in specific situations. They could be found guilty of misconduct when they fail to do so. Examples include commingling client funds with their own or using settlement proceeds for personal expenses, and not performing basic due diligence.
Other instances of legal misconduct include failure to file a lawsuit within the statute of limitation and not filing the suit by the deadlines set by the court and not observing the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys are also obligated to disclose any conflict of interest. They must inform clients of any financial or personal interests that could influence their judgement when representing them.
In addition, attorneys are required to follow instructions from their clients. If a client instructs them to take a specific action then the attorney must follow the instructions, unless there’s an obvious reason to believe that it would not be advantageous or is not feasible.
In order to win a malpractice suit, the plaintiff has to prove that the lawyer has violated his duty of care. It can be difficult to prove that the defendant’s inaction or actions caused harm. It isn’t enough to demonstrate that the attorney’s wrongful actions led to a poor outcome. A malpractice claim must also show that there was a significant likelihood that the plaintiff’s case could have been won had the defendant followed standard practices.