How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice

To sue an attorney for malpractice, you have to prove that the breach of duty had negative legal, financial or other implications for you. You must establish that there is a direct link between the attorney's negligence and the negative result.

Legal malpractice doesn't include matters of strategy. If you lose a case due to your lawyer was not able to file the lawsuit in time, this could be malpractice.

Inappropriate use of funds

The misuse of funds by a lawyer is one of the most common kinds of legal fraud. Attorneys are required to fulfill a fiduciary duty to their clients and must behave with confidence and fidelity when handling funds or any other property that the client has entrusted them with.

When a client pays their retainer the lawyer is obligated by law to keep that money in an escrow account that is exclusively utilized for that particular case. If the attorney makes use of the escrow account to pursue personal goals or mix it with their own funds, they are in violation of their fiduciary duties and could be accused of legal malpractice.

Imagine, for example, that a client hired an attorney to represent the client in a lawsuit filed against a motorist whose car struck them while crossing the street. The client is able to prove that the driver was negligent and could show that the accident caused their injuries. But, their lawyer violates the statute of limitations and is incapable of bringing the case within the timeframe. The lawsuit is dismissed and the party who was injured is liable for financial losses due to the lawyer's error.

The statute of limitations restricts the time you have to pursue a lawyer's malpractice. It can be a challenge to calculate when the loss or injury was caused by the negligence of an attorney. A New York attorney who is experienced in malpractice law will be able to explain the statute of limitations and assist you in determining whether you have a case that qualifies for a lawsuit.

Infractions to the rules of professional conduct

Legal malpractice is the case when a lawyer doesn't follow generally accepted professional standards and results in harm to the client. It is based on the same four elements as the majority of torts, which include an attorney-client relationship an obligation, a breach, and proximate causation.

A few examples of malpractice include lawyers who mix personal and trust funds, not submitting claims in time to file a suit within the time limits, taking cases in which they are not competent, failing to carry out an investigation into conflicts and not keeping up to date on court proceedings or any new developments in law that could affect the case. Lawyers are required to communicate with their clients in a reasonable manner. This isn't just limited to email or fax, but also includes returning phone calls promptly.

Attorneys can also commit fraud. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as lying to the client or anyone involved in a case. It is essential to understand the facts so you can determine whether the attorney was insincere. A breach of the agreement between the attorney and client is when an attorney decides to take an action outside of their expertise without advising the client or soliciting independent counsel.

Failure to Advise

When a client hires an attorney, it is a sign that they've reached a point where their legal situation is beyond their capabilities and experience and that they are no longer able to resolve it by themselves. It is the lawyer's duty to provide advice to clients regarding the benefits of a case along with the costs and risks involved, as well as their rights. If an attorney does not do this, they could be guilty of malpractice attorneys.

Many legal malpractice cases result from a lack of communication between attorneys and their clients. For example, an attorney might not respond to phone calls or fail to inform their clients of a decision they made on their behalf. An attorney may also fail to communicate important details about a case or fail to disclose known issues in transactions.

A client may sue an attorney if they've suffered financial losses as a result of the lawyer's negligence. The losses have to be documented, which will require documents such as client files, emails and other correspondence between the lawyer and the client, and bills. In the case of fraud or theft it could also be necessary to get an expert witness to look into the case.

Failure to Follow the Law

Attorneys must follow the law and know what it means in specific situations. If they don't then they could be accused of misconduct. Examples include commingling client funds with their own, or using settlement proceeds for personal expenses, and not performing basic due diligence.

Other examples of legal malpractice include failure to file a suit within the time limit and not filing the suit by the deadlines set by the court and not complying with the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys must also disclose any conflicts of interests. This means that they have to inform clients of any financial or personal concerns that could impact their judgment when representing them.

Attorneys must also follow the instructions of their clients. Attorneys must abide by the instructions of clients unless it is evident that the action would not be beneficial.

To win a malpractice lawsuit the plaintiff must show that the lawyer acted in violation of his duty of care. This can be difficult, since it requires proving the defendant's actions, or inaction, caused damages. It's also not enough to show that the result of the attorney's negligence was negative to be able to prove a malpractice claim. to be successful, it has to be proven that there is an extremely high chance that the plaintiff could have won the case when the defendant had acted in accordance with the usual procedure.