August 18, 2010, 10:30:00AM. By Heidi Turner

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New York, NY: Legal malpractice law is designed to ensure that lawyers act in the best interests of their clients. Legal malpractice claims can include malicious or negligent acts on the part of attorneys, such as fraud, elder abuse or simply failing to file court documents on time. Whatever the situation, when an attorney's improper conduct hurts a client, the attorney may be guilty of legal malpractice.

Eighty-year-old Concepcion "Connie" Campbell recently filed a lawsuit accusing her lawyer of scamming her out of her $1.7 million home and conspiring to evict her. According to the Daily News on 8/12/10, Campbell fell behind on her mortgage payments in 2007 and received a foreclosure notice. Campbell's granddaughter convinced Campbell to hire an attorney, who was supposed to help her with the situation.

Campbell alleges that she was forced to sign away ownership of her home for $200,000 but was told she could live out her life in the home. A year later, Campbell's granddaughter tried to evict her. That eviction is now on hold while Campbell's lawsuit is in the courts.

Campbell's lawsuit demands ownership of the house plus $2 million in damages. The lawsuit alleges fraud and legal malpractice against her former lawyer.

Legal malpractice cases do not have to involve fraud or a malicious act on the part of the lawyer. If an attorney has failed to file court documents in a timely manner or has failed to follow his client's instructions, and the client was hurt by these actions, that could be considered legal malpractice.

For example, plaintiff James Moss filed a lawsuit that combined claims of legal malpractice with claims related to the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA). According to the Madison Record on 7/16/10), Moss alleged his attorney was guilty of legal malpractice because the attorney wrongly dismissed a case concerning Moss's injuries and failed to re-file the case before the statute of limitations ran out.

The Record notes that the lawsuit was filed in a mediation session and the financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

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