Legal Malpractice Law

Legal malpractice claims can be filed--generally with the help of a Legal Malpractice Lawyer or a Legal Malpractice law firm--when your lawyer or legal representation fails in the preparation, execution, or settlement of your case, resulting in additional legal consequences. An attorney experienced in Legal Malpractice Law can help you win a legal malpractice settlement or legal malpractice lawsuit .

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Legal Malpractice

Legal malpractice means that your attorney has been negligent when providing legal advice or representation. Legal Malpractice Experts who handle legal malpractice claims can represent you in legal malpractice lawsuits against your former attorney(s), if you believe misconduct in your case that has caused harm to your position. In a legal malpractice case, it must be shown that – in dealing with clients, other attorneys, and/or the courts – an attorney failed to demonstrate the skill and care that could be expected from a lawyer in similar circumstances.

The most common mistakes that can result in a legal malpractice claim are:

Failure to know the law: not knowing/observing a deadline, Inadequate Investigation, Conflict of Interest
Failure to inform client or get a client's consent; failure to follow client instructions
Administrative errors: failure to calendar events; failure to file; clerical error

A Legal Malpractice Lawsuit is brought about to hold a lawyer who has alleged legal malpractice accountable and at the same time, to secure appropriate compensation for your losses and suffering. Since a Statute of Limitations may apply to legal malpractice claims, the victim or the victim's loved ones should file a legal malpractice complaint as soon as possible.

To be successful in a legal malpractice lawsuit and win a legal malpractice settlement, you (the plaintiff) must typically prove:

The existence of an attorney-client relationship;
Negligence in the legal representation of the plaintiff;
That the negligence was a proximate cause of an injury;
The fact and extent of the injury alleged.

After an attorney-client relationship has been proven, you must establish the "standard of care" which governed the legal representation, and show that the attorney violated that standard of care; quite often an expert witness will help determine standard of care. Next, you must show an injury as a proximate result of the lawyer's negligence (misconduct). Lastly, you need to show that damages actually were suffered as a result of the legal malpractice, and the nature and amount of those damages.

If legal malpractice damages that resulted from the legal malpractice cannot be established, the case will generally be dismissed.

Legal Malpractice Lawsuits

In 2004 approximately 35,000 legal malpractice claims against insured attorneys were filed in the US, with about one-third reaching a legal malpractice settlement. In September 2008, the American Bar Association (ABA) reported an increase in legal malpractice claims due to the slump in economy and particularly related to real estate transactions. It found that from 2004, malpractice cases have continually increased.

Legal malpractice suits filed by disgruntled borrowers and lenders against lawyers are most prevalent, with plaintiffs claiming a lawyer should have advised them about the appropriateness of a mortgage. And bankruptcy-related claims are on the rise. The ABA also reported that most malpractice claims occur when an attorney is perceived as failing to communicate with clients or to educate them about a case.

Statistics show that lawyers who practice outside of their specialties run a greater risk of being sued for legal malpractice. Another risk is that lawyers who have suffered from the economy may take on clients that they shouldn't.

LawyersandSettlements.com makes it easy for you to find the Legal Malpractice lawyer. We work with legal malpractice attorneys throughout the US and Canada who practice in this specialized area.

If you--or someone you know --believe that you have been the victim of legal malpractice, you should check with a legal malpractice lawyer about the specific elements of a legal malpractice action under the laws of your state, and to determine if the incident might constitute legal malpractice.

Legal Malpractice Legal Help

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Last updated on Jul-10-11

LEGAL MALPRACTICE ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS

Public Defense System under Fire in Washington State

Seattle, WA: Out of a duty to the public good, two attorneys from Seattle have taken on a class-action suit aimed at ensuring that low-income and indigent persons charged with misdemeanors in Mount Vernon and Burlington are afforded all the rights afforded to US citizens. "We got interested in the idea just as conscientious attorneys," says Toby Marshall, from the firm of Terrell, Marshall, Daudt & Willie. "We started investigating about six months ago, doing public disclosure requests, getting documents and interviewing people. [READ MORE]

Legal Malpractice Lawsuit Filed by University Professor

Jefferson County, TX: A male professor at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, who sued the school has filed a legal malpractice lawsuit claiming his attorney mishandled his discrimination claim, the Southeast Texas Record reports [READ MORE]

Woman Sues West Virginia Attorney for Legal Malpractice

Charleston, WV: A woman from Wayne County, West Virginia, has filed a legal malpractice lawsuit against an attorney from Cabell County, claiming the lawyer missed the deadline for filing her personal injury complaint, reports the West Virginia Record [READ MORE]