To win a legal malpractice case, you must prove the following:
- Attorney-Client Relationship. This simply means your attorney owes a professional duty to you, the client.
- Attorney Carelessness. Your attorney failed to provide ordinary service that met recognized standards of practice and ethics. This is difficult to prove in court and often requires written or verbal testimony from an objective, knowledgeable third party.
- Attorney Directly Caused Harm. Your attorney’s carelessness caused you to lose an otherwise winnable case. In other words, you must prove that your case was solid enough to win had your lawyer provided ordinary service.
- Attorney’s Mistake Caused Financial Harm.
Should I sue My Attorney for Malpractice?
Before pursuing a lawsuit against your attorney, consider the following questions:
1. Do I have a good case against my attorney? In order to win a case, you should meet all of the above criteria.
2. Is there any satisfactory alternative to a lawsuit? Lawsuits can be expensive and time-consuming. Before taking your lawyer to court, you may want to pursue other options, including:
-Settling out of court by reaching a direct compromise with your lawyer
-Hiring a mediator (a professional third party) to settle the dispute
-Seeking arbitration, a less formal process to settle without a lawsuit
3. If I win the case, will it be possible to collect damages? Most lawyers and law firms have some form of malpractice or liability insurance. In these cases, collecting damages shouldn’t be a problem. If, on the other hand, your lawyer does not seem to be financially solvent, there is no way to collect the money owed to you.
If you answered yes to all of the above questions, you should consider filing a lawsuit against your former attorney. Legal malpractice is an area of expertise for the Meehan Law Firm. To review all of your options and receive a free consultation, contact the Meehan Law Firm today.
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/small-claims-book/chapter2-8.html
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/when-should-you-sue-29900.html
http://meehanlawfirm.com/legal-malpractice.html