Legal Malpractice

Personal Injury Law

The legal system has been set up to protect people. In most cases, lawyers are here to fight for those who may be unable to fight for themselves and they offer a great service to those who have been injured or wronged. Unfortunately, there are times where legal malpractice occurs. Legal malpractice cases can be very complicated, so it is encouraged to see the assistance of an experienced legal malpractice attorney.

What is Legal Malpractice?

Legal malpractice occurs when a person claims that they have suffered damage due to their attorney’s negligence. Some of the most common ways this occurs is:

The lawyer missing set deadlines to file paperwork regarding the case
Allowing their client’s case to be dismissed without doing their part to prosecute it
Being careless when collecting evidence and composing paperwork regarding the case
Not thoroughly investigating the case
Breach of contract with the client
Acting in a manner that suits their interests more than their client’s interests
Ethical conflicts between attorney and client

Proving Legal Malpractice

In order for you to prove that legal malpractice occurred, you must be able to prove the following:

That there was indeed a client-attorney relationship – without this established relationship, the attorney has no duty to the client
That your attorney was negligent in their legal representation of your case – you must be able to prove that your attorney breached the “standard of care” that you were to receive while they were representing you.
That their negligence caused direct injury and what the extent of the injury was – there must be definite proof that you suffered an injury as a result of the attorney’s actions.

A difficult aspect of legal malpractice cases is what is known as the “attorney judgment rule.” Under this rule, if the lawyer acted in good faith and made errors in judgment with honest intentions, they cannot be held liable for them.

Another issue that affects legal malpractice cases is the ever changing legal system. Lawyers cannot be held liable for changes in the law during the course of their case. If there is new legislation that occurs after an attorney has advised his client, that attorney is not held responsible for the advice or legal representation they gave.

Legal malpractice cases can be one of the most confusing and difficult cases to deal with. Because of this, it is highly encouraged to seek the assistance of an experienced legal malpractice attorney. If you have suffered injury, great or small, by your attorney’s negligence, please contact Jacoby & Meyers, LLC today.

Jacoby

Jacoby & Meyers has offices and attorneys throughout the United States, with regional offices in Southern California, Arizona, Miami, and New York.