How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice

To sue your attorney on charges of malpractice, you must prove that their breach of duty caused financial, legal or other negative outcomes for you. It is not enough to show that the attorney's negligence was bad but you must also prove a direct link between the breach and the resulting outcome.

The nuances of strategy don't count as legal malpractice but if your lawyer does not file a lawsuit within the timeframe and you lose the case, that could be a sign of malpractice.

Use of funds in a fraudulent way

Misuse of funds by a lawyer is among the most widespread kinds of legal malpractice. Lawyers are in a fiduciary relationship with their clients and are expected to behave with a high degree of trust and fidelity, particularly when handling money or other property that the client has given to them.

When a client pays retainer to their lawyer, the lawyer is required to deposit the money into a separate escrow account that is specifically designated for the specific purpose of the case only. If the attorney makes use of 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 charged with legal misconduct.

For example, imagine that a client employs their attorney to represent them in a lawsuit against a driver who slammed into them as they were walking along the street. The client could prove the driver's negligence, and that the collision caused the injuries they sustained. The lawyer, however, misses the statute and is unable to file the case on time. 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 amount of time you can bring a lawsuit against a lawyer for malpractice. This can be difficult to calculate when the loss or injury was caused by the negligence of an attorney. A New York attorney who is proficient in malpractice law will be able to explain the statute of limitations and assist you in determining whether you have a case that is eligible for an action.

Inability to follow the Rules of Professional Conduct

Legal malpractice is when a lawyer fails to adhere to the generally accepted standards of professional practice and results in harm to the client. It is based on the same four elements as the majority of torts, which are an attorney-client relationship an obligation, a breach, and proximate causation.

A few examples of malpractice include the lawyer combining their personal and trust funds, failing to timely to file suit within the statutes of limitations, taking cases in which they aren't competent, failing to conduct a conflict check and not being up to the current court proceedings, or any new developments in law that could affect the case. Lawyers are accountable to communicate with their clients in a timely manner. This doesn't only apply to email and fax as well as answering phone calls in a timely manner.

It is also possible for attorneys to engage in fraud. It can be done by lying to the client, or any other person who is involved in the case. In this scenario it is essential to have the facts on hands so that you can determine if the attorney was insincere. It's also a violation of the contract between attorney and client if an attorney decides to take on cases that are outside of their expertise and does not inform the client of this or suggest that they seek separate counsel.

Inability to advise

If a client engages an attorney, it indicates that they've reached a point at which their legal situation is beyond their expertise and experience and they can no longer resolve it by themselves. The lawyer's job is to inform clients of the merits of a particular case as well as the risks and costs involved and their rights. If an attorney fails to perform this, they could be guilty of malpractice lawyer.

Many legal malpractice cases are the result of poor communication between attorneys and their clients. An attorney may not return phone calls or fail to inform their clients of a specific decision that they have made on their behalf. An attorney may also fail to communicate important information regarding a case or not disclose any known issues in transactions.

A client can sue an attorney if they have suffered financial losses as a result of the negligence of the lawyer. These losses must be documented, which will require evidence such as files of the client emails, client files, and other correspondence between the attorney and the client, and bills. In the event of fraud, or theft An expert witness could be required to review the case.

Failure to Follow the Law

Attorneys must adhere to the law and be aware of what it means in specific situations. If they fail to do so or don't, they could be accused of misconduct. Examples include combining funds from clients with their own or using settlement proceeds for personal expenses, or not performing basic due diligence.

Other examples of legal malpractice are failure to file a suit within the statute of limitations and not filing the suit by the deadlines set by the court and not adhering to the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys are also required to disclose any significant conflicts of interest. This means that they must inform clients of any personal or financial interests that could affect their judgment in representing them.

Attorneys are also required to follow the instructions of their clients. If a client directs the attorney to take specific actions then the attorney must follow the instructions, unless there's any reason that suggests it would not be beneficial or possible.

To win a malpractice lawsuit the plaintiff must demonstrate that the lawyer did not fulfill his duty of care. This isn't easy, because it requires proving that the defendant's actions or inaction caused damages. It's not enough to prove that the result of the attorney's negligence was bad; for a Malpractice Lawyer claim to be successful, it has to be shown that there is a high likelihood that the plaintiff would have prevailed in the event that the defendant had followed the usual procedure.