When you lose a lawsuit, you may find yourself unsatisfied with the legal services rendered. How do you know if you have a case for legal malpractice? Read on for some guidelines in handling a mismanaged case.
Lost Lawsuit: Is My Lawyer at Fault?
In order to be at fault for lost cases, lawyers must be guilty of legal malpractice – a failure to provide competent and professional legal service that resulted in damage to you, the client.
Negligence is the most common form of malpractice. Lawyers have a duty to perform at the level of an average attorney. A failure to provide this standard of service means your lawyer has acted negligently and could be liable for your damages. You must prove lawyer malpractice in order to recover losses.
Taking Action: What is the Next Step in My Malpractice Case?
Before you take legal action, tell your lawyer your concerns about the case. Lawyers often handle many cases at a time. What appears to be negligence could just be disorganization and miscommunication.
If you are not satisfied with your lawyer’s explanation, request the case file from your attorney’s office. Do some legal research, and read over the case yourself. Is everything checking out? Cases like these often benefit from a second opinion from a different attorney. This process is less expensive than litigation and only takes a couple of hours.
If these actions don’t improve your situation, it may be time to consider a malpractice suit.
How Do I Prove Attorney Malpractice?
In order to file a malpractice lawsuit and win your case, you must show:
- Your lawyer owed you the duty of legal services because of an attorney-client relationship.
- Your lawyer breached this duty through negligence, lack of follow through or mistakes an average attorney would not make.
- Your lawyer’s behavior caused you damage; the outcome of your case would have been different without the lawyer’s negligence.
- You suffered financial loss.
Keep in mind – there is a high burden of proof in malpractice cases. If you feel you lost your case due to attorney failure, don’t wait to take legal action. A common defense for a lawyer is that the client waited too long to sue. Meehan Law Firm specializes in legal malpractice cases – contact us today for a free consultation.
Sources:
http://legal-malpractice.lawyers.com/Legal-Malpractice-FAQ.html#10
http://public.findlaw.com/litigation_appeals/when-mad-at-lawyer.html
http://public.findlaw.com/library/hiring-lawyer/lawyer-malpractice-basics-faq.html