Reasons to sue your (former) attorney for legal malpractice
When hiring an attorney to handle a legal issue for you, he or she has a responsibility to properly represent you and to protect your rights. Unfortunately, there are some attorneys that fail in their duties to clients due to a serious error in judgement or because they’ve taken part in some type of misconduct, whether unintentional or intentional. The result can have damaging consequences for a client’s case.
If you feel that your attorney didn’t do their job, that they made serious errors which had a significant effect on the successful outcome of your case, you may consider filing a legal malpractice lawsuit against that attorney.
Suing an attorney for legal malpractice can be complicated. You must be able to prove that the attorney in question was negligent when it came to how your case was handled. In some cases, the malpractice may be very obvious: the attorney missed a deadline or didn’t file your lawsuit within the statute of limitations.
In other cases of legal malpractice, it may be more difficult to prove that your attorney exhibited negligence and that his or her negligence had a significant impact on the outcome of your case which harmed you, financially speaking.
Before making the decision to file a claim against your attorney, you may want to familiarize yourself with some examples of legal malpractice.
Missed deadlines? Worse?
Legal malpractice cases are complicated because, not only do you have to prove negligence on the part of your attorney’s handling of your case, but you have to prove that you would have had a more favorable outcome, settlement, or judgement if his or her negligence had not occurred.
And, while there are legitimate reasons to sue your former attorney, just because you lost your case or you feel that the outcome was not a just one is not a valid reason to sue for malpractice.
In order to prove negligence, the attorney that you hire to file the lawsuit must demonstrate four elements:
- Your original attorney owed you a duty of care to properly represent you
- The duty of care was breached due to negligent representation or negligent acts on the part of your original attorney
- The breach of duty resulted in damages to you
- The damages that resulted were in the form of a financial loss; what amount could you have won if malpractice had not occurred
Some common examples of legal malpractice include:
- Missed court deadlines
- Engaging in fraud
- Failing to properly know and apply the law
- Libel or slander vs a client
- Failure to obtain a client’s consent before taking certain actions
- Breach of fiduciary duty
- Having a conflict of interest
Something as simple as missing a crucial deadline can result in a judge dismissing your case and barring you from re-filing it.
Most attorneys can be trusted
Most attorneys are dedicated to providing their clients with the best possible representation in a professional and ethical manner. Scott S. Harris, attorney for legal malpractice in San Diego, is one of those attorneys. If you feel that you have valid reasons to sue your attorney, engage the services of an experienced attorney who knows how to file a legal malpractice lawsuit.