Signs that you may have hired a bad attorney
When hiring an attorney to help you handle important legal matters, the attorney that you choose has a responsibility to handle your case in a professional and ethical manner and to take all necessary steps to make sure that your legal rights are protected.
If ever in need of the services of an attorney, there’s a good chance that you’re dealing with a situation that requires some urgency such as fighting for custody of a child or to receive child support, or some other difficulty that requires the services of an experienced attorney to help you achieve a successful outcome.
Some factors to take into consideration when looking for attorney include:
- Experience, specifically as it relates to your type of case
- Cost and is the consultation free
- Peer and client reviews
- Successful results – verdicts and settlements
- Educational and professional credentials
- Availability and responsiveness
- Professional standing local and state bar associations
When hiring an attorney, you want to feel like they are in your corner, fighting to ensure that your rights are protected and to achieve the results you deserve. You want to be able to forge a strong relationship with your attorney, built on trust, so you can work together as a team to achieve the desired results. You need is to hire a reputable attorney that treats you with compassion and professionalism.
What are the signs you hired a bad attorney?
Top problems
The following are warning signs that you hired a bad attorney and how to avoid them in the future:
- Ineffective or bad communication
- Billing isn’t clear
- Lacks confidence
- Unprofessional appearance
- Unethical conduct or illegal behavior
- Failing to establish a winning track record
- Lacks enthusiasm for your case
- Disrespected by his or her peers
- Dishonesty
How bad an it be?
Like all professionals, your attorney has a responsibility to accurately represent you. It is their “duty” to handle your case in an appropriate manner and to take all the appropriate steps necessary to resolve it.
Sadly, this is not always the case. There are attorneys who do not work in the best interest of their clients, are negligent or careless, or, worse, exhibit unethical conduct or engage in illegal behavior. However, just because the attorney you have hired exhibits some of the signs of a bad attorney, does it rise to the level of a legitimate claim of legal malpractice?
The state of California has rules of professional conduct by which all attorneys must abide. You may bring a claim of legal malpractice against an attorney if you can prove:
- An attorney-client relationship existed between the two of you
- The attorney was negligent in the legal representation he or she provided
- The negligence caused you harm
- The extent of the harm caused by the attorney in question
Legal malpractice cases are complicated. If you need to hire an experienced legal malpractice attorney to sue another attorney, contact the Law Offices of Scott S. Harris, California legal malpractice attorney.