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How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice

To sue an attorney for negligence, you need to prove that the breach caused financial, legal or other repercussions for you. You must prove that there was a direct link between your attorney's negligence and the negative result.

Strategy-related issues do not be considered legal malpractice, however, when your lawyer fails to file a lawsuit in time and you lose the case that could be a form of malpractice.

Inappropriate use of funds

Misuse of funds by a lawyer is among the most widespread types of legal malpractice. Lawyers are bound by a fiduciary duty to their clients and must behave with trust and fidelity when handling funds or other property that the client has trusted them with.

If a client pays their retainer to a lawyer, they are required by law to place that money into an funds that are only intended for the specific case. If the lawyer co-mingles the account with personal funds or uses it for other purposes, this is a clear breach of fiduciary responsibility and could result in legal fraud.

Imagine, for example that a client hires an attorney to represent him in a suit filed against a driver whose vehicle was struck by them as they crossed the street. The client is able to prove the driver's negligence and the collision resulted in their injuries. However, their lawyer is not aware of the deadline and is in a position to file the lawsuit within the timeframe. The lawsuit is dismissed and the person who was injured suffers a financial loss because of the lawyer's error.

A statute of limitations limits the amount of time you can claim a lawyer's negligence. This can be difficult to determine when an injury or loss was caused by the attorney's negligence. A New York attorney who is knowledgeable about malpractice law will be able to explain the statute of limitations and help you decide if you have a case that is eligible for a lawsuit.

Failure to follow the Rules of Professional Conduct

Legal malpractice lawsuit occurs when a lawyer fails adhere to generally accepted professional standards and results in harm to the client. It has the same four elements that are common to all torts, which are an attorney-client relationship an obligation, a breach, and proximate cause.

Some examples of malpractice include a lawyer mixing their personal and trust account funds, failing in time to file suit within the timeframe of the statute of limitations or taking on cases where they aren't competent, not conducting an investigation into conflicts, and not keeping up-to-date with court proceedings or other developments in the law that could impact the case. Lawyers are also required to communicate with clients in a reasonable manner. This is not limited to email or fax and also includes answering phone calls in a timely manner.

Attorneys are also able to commit fraud. This can be done in a variety of ways, including lying to the client or to anyone else involved in the case. In this scenario it is essential to have the facts on the hands of the investigator to determine if the attorney was untruthful. It also constitutes a breach of the attorney-client contract when an attorney accepts an issue that is outside of their expertise and fails to inform the client of this or advise them to seek separate counsel.

Failure to Advise

When a client engages an attorney, it indicates that their legal situation has been beyond their expertise and knowledge. They are unable to solve the problem by themselves. The lawyer is required to inform clients of the advantages of the case, the potential risks and costs involved, and their rights. If a lawyer fails to do this, they may be guilty of malpractice.

Many legal malpractice claims are the result of poor communication between attorneys, and their clients. For instance, an attorney might not respond to phone calls or fail to notify their clients of a decision they made on their behalf. Attorneys may not be able to communicate crucial details regarding a case, or not disclose any known problems with the transaction.

A client can sue an attorney if they have suffered financial losses due to the lawyer's negligence. The losses should be documented. This requires evidence, like client files and emails, or other correspondence between an attorney and a customer, and also bills. In the event of fraud or theft an expert witness could be required to look into the case.

Inability to Follow the Law

Attorneys must follow the law, and know how it applies to specific situations. They could be found guilty of misconduct in the event that they fail to follow. Examples include mixing funds from clients with theirs using settlement proceeds to pay for personal expenses and not performing basic due diligence.

Another instance of legal malpractice is failure to file an action within the statute of limitations, not meeting deadlines for filing court documents or not adhering to the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys must disclose any conflicts of interest. They must inform clients of any financial or personal interests that could affect their judgment when representing them.

Finally, attorneys are obligated to follow instructions from their clients. Attorneys must follow the instructions of clients unless it is clear that the action is not beneficial.

To win a malpractice lawsuit, the plaintiff has to demonstrate that the lawyer did not fulfill his duty of care. This can be difficult, because it requires proving that the defendant's actions or negligence caused damages. It's not enough to prove that the result of the attorney's negligence was bad to be able to prove a malpractice claim. to be successful, it must be proved that there is an excellent chance that the plaintiff could have won their case should the defendant followed the accepted practice.