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How to Sue Your Attorney for Malpractice

If you want to sue your attorney for negligence, you must show that the breach of duty led to financial, legal or other negative effects for you. You must prove a direct connection between the attorney's negligence and the negative result.

Matters of strategy do not count as legal malpractice but if your lawyer fails to submit a lawsuit on time and you lose the case, that could be a form of malpractice.

Inappropriate use of funds

A misuse of funds by lawyers is among the most frequent forms of legal negligence. Lawyers are bound by a fiduciary duty to their clients, and must act with trust and fidelity when handling money or other property that the client has entrusted them with.

If a client pays retainer fees, their lawyer is required to put the money into a separate escrow account specifically for the purpose of that case only. If the attorney utilizes the escrow funds for personal reasons or mixes it with their own funds it is in violation of their fiduciary obligations and could be accused of legal misconduct.

Imagine, for example, that a client hired an attorney to represent the client in a lawsuit filed against a driver whose vehicle struck them while crossing the street. The client is able to prove the driver's negligence and that the collision caused the injuries they sustained. But, their lawyer violates the deadline and is in a position to file the lawsuit within the timeframe. The lawsuit is dismissed and the party who was injured is liable for financial loss as a result of the lawyer's mistake.

The time limit to sue an attorney for malpractice is limited by a statute of limitation that can be difficult to determine in cases where an injury or malpractice loss resulted from the negligence of the attorney. A New York attorney who is knowledgeable about malpractice law will be able to explain the statute of limitation and assist you in determining whether you are eligible for a lawsuit.

Disobedience to the Rules of Professional Conduct

Legal malpractice is when an attorney fails to adhere to the generally accepted professional standards and causes harm to the client. It is required to meet the four components of the most common torts: an attorney-client relationship as well as breach of duty and proximate cause.

A few common examples of malpractice include mixing their personal and trust account funds, failing to make a claim within the time limit and assuming cases in which they aren't competent, not performing an investigation into conflicts, and not being up-to-date with court proceedings or any new developments in law that may affect the case. Lawyers are accountable to communicate with their clients in a reasonable way. This does not only include email and faxes but also returning telephone calls promptly.

It is also possible for attorneys to commit fraud. This can happen in a variety of ways, such as lying to the client or anyone else involved in the case. It is important to know the facts to determine if the attorney is dishonest. A breach of the attorney-client agreement occurs when an attorney handles an action outside of their expertise without informing the client of this or advising them to seek independent counsel.

Failure to Advise

If a client engages an attorney, it indicates that they've reached a point where their legal situation is beyond their ability or experience and they are no longer able to resolve it by themselves. It is the job of the lawyer to inform clients about the merits of a case, the costs and risks associated with it, and their rights. If a lawyer fails to perform this, they could be guilty of malpractice.

Many legal malpractice cases result from a lack of communication between lawyers and their clients. A lawyer may not answer a calls or fail to inform their clients about a specific decision taken on their behalf. An attorney may also be unable to communicate important details about a case or fail to divulge any issues with an transaction.

It is possible to claim a lawyer's negligence, but the client must prove that they were able to recover financial losses as a result of the negligence of their lawyer. These losses must be documented. This requires evidence, like email files and client files, or any other correspondence between an attorney and a client as well bills. In cases of theft or fraud, it may also be necessary to engage an expert witness to review the case.

Inability to Follow the Law

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

Another type of legal malpractice is the failure to file a lawsuit within the timeframe of limitations, missing court filing deadlines or not adhering to the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys must also declare any conflicts of interest. This means that they must 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. If a client asks the attorney to take specific actions, the attorney must follow those instructions unless there's an obvious reason that 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 can be a challenge, since it requires proof that the defendant's actions or inaction caused damages. It's not enough to show that the result of the attorney's negligence was negative in order for a malpractice claim to succeed, it must be proved that there is a high probability that the plaintiff could have won the case if the defendant had followed the usual procedure.