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How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice

To sue an attorney for malpractice, it is necessary to show that the breach had negative legal, financial, or other consequences for you. It is not enough to show that the attorney's negligence was bad but you must also prove an immediate link between the breach and the negative outcome.

Legal malpractice does not include issues of strategy. If you lose a lawsuit because your lawyer was not able to file the lawsuit in time it could be a case of malpractice.

Inappropriate use of funds

Fraud in the handling of funds by lawyers is among the most prevalent kinds of legal negligence. Lawyers are required to fulfill a fiduciary duty to their clients, and must behave with trust and fidelity when handling money or other property that the client has entrusted them with.

When a client makes a payment for their retainer and the lawyer is required by law to place that money in an funds that are only specifically used for the particular case. If the attorney utilizes the escrow funds for personal reasons or mixes it with their own funds it is in violation of their fiduciary duty and could be charged with legal negligence.

Imagine, for instance, that a customer hires their attorney to represent them in an action against a motorist who struck them as they were walking across the street. The client has proof that the driver was negligent and is able to prove that the collision caused their injuries. However, their lawyer misses the statute of limitations and is unable to file the case within the timeframe. The lawsuit is dismissed and the person who was injured suffers a financial loss because of the lawyer's mistake.

The statute of limitations limit the time you have to claim a lawyer's negligence. This can be difficult to determine if the loss or injury was caused by the negligence of an attorney. A New York attorney who is knowledgeable about malpractice law can explain the statute of limitations and assist you in determining whether you have a case that is eligible for a lawsuit.

Failure to follow the Rules of Professional Conduct

Legal malpractice is when an attorney fails to follow generally accepted professional standards, and harms the client. It is based on the same four elements that are common to all torts, which are an attorney-client relationship, a duty, a breach, and proximate causation.

Some examples of misconduct include a lawyer who has a personal and trust account funds, malpractice lawyers failing to bring suit within the timeframe of the statute of limitations or taking on cases where they are not competent, not performing a conflict check, and not being up-to-date on court proceedings or new developments in law that may affect the case. Lawyers also have a responsibility to communicate with clients in a timely manner. This is not limited to email and faxes, but also the ability to return phone calls promptly.

It is also possible for lawyers to commit fraud. This can be done by lying to the client, or any other person involved in the case. In this case it is essential to have the facts on the hands of the investigator to determine if the attorney was being untruthful. It's also a violation of the attorney-client contract if an attorney accepts an issue that is outside of their area of expertise and does not inform the client about this or recommend seeking separate counsel.

Failure to Advise

When a client engages a lawyer, it means that their legal situation has become beyond their skill and experience. They are unable to resolve it on their own. The lawyer is required to inform clients about the benefits of the case, the risks and costs involved, as well as their rights. If an attorney does not perform this, they could be guilty of malpractice.

Many legal malpractice cases result from a lack of communication between lawyers and their clients. An attorney might not return a the phone or fail inform their clients of a particular decision that they have made on their behalf. An attorney could not also communicate vital details regarding a case, or fail to disclose known issues in a transaction.

A client can sue an attorney if they've suffered financial losses as a result of the negligence of the lawyer. The losses must be documented. This requires evidence, malpractice lawyers like client files and emails or other correspondence between an attorney and a client, as well as bills. In the event of fraud or theft it could also be required to engage an expert witness to review the case.

Inability to Follow the Law

Attorneys must be in compliance with the law and understand how it applies to specific circumstances. If they fail to do so and they don't, they could be found guilty of malpractice. Examples include mixing client funds with their own, or using settlement proceeds to pay personal expenses, or not performing basic due diligence.

Another type of legal malpractice is the failure to file a lawsuit within the statute of limitations, not meeting deadlines for filing with the court, and not following the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys are also required to disclose any conflict of interest. This means they must inform clients of any personal or financial interests that might affect their decision-making process when representing them.

Additionally, attorneys are required to comply with the directions of their clients. If a client directs them to take particular action an attorney must follow those instructions unless there's an obvious reason why it is not beneficial or feasible.

In order to prevail in a malpractice lawyer case the plaintiff must demonstrate that the lawyer did not fulfill his duty of care. This can be difficult since it requires proof that the defendant's actions, or inaction, caused damages. It's not enough to prove that the result of the negligence of the attorney was bad in order for a Malpractice Lawyers claim to succeed, it must be proven that there is an excellent chance that the plaintiff could have won their case if the defendant had followed standard practice.