Some life problems require legal assistance and you hire services of a qualified attorney with complete faith in them that they will do the best to help you win the case. At times, your attorney may fail to perform their job in the way they should, and mishandles the case.
In such scene, hiring a legal malpractice lawyer can be a good option to sue the attorney for their legal negligence. Since you are going to take an attorney to the court, you need to obtain all the evidences that demonstrate what standard professional code of conduct was breached by the attorney and how you suffered mentally and financially.
Criteria for Claiming Legal Malpractice
When it comes to filing a legal malpractice case, you need to meet a certain criteria described below.
- The complainant needs to prove that there was a legal relationship existed between them and the lawyer. Also, the plaintiff must provide the evidence of the lawyer’s negligence in performing legal responsibilities in order to offer competent legal representation.
- The accuser needs to evidently prove that the legal malpractice caused the plaintiff the damage that led to financial loss and mental trauma.
Types of Legal Malpractice
Legal malpractice can take place in different ways. However, some of the most common types of legal malpractice are as below:
- Breach of Contract
Usually, hiring a lawyer requires you to sign a contract which has numerous terms and conditions to be abided by both the parties. If the attorney has breached any terms and conditions or done anything that neglects the presence of the signed contract, then they are responsible for committing legal malpractice, and will be accountable to pay for the damages.
- Legal Negligence
Your lawyer is responsible to handle your lawsuit competently as any capable attorney would do under the same circumstances. When your lawyer mishandles your case or doesn’t put skillful efforts to lift up the chances of winning the case, they may found guilty for legal negligence and forced to pay for the damage.
- Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Once hired, a lawyer is forced to work in your best interest. At times, some attorneys neglect their responsibilities and act in their best interest which directly affects your case and causes negativity results. This is likely a serious case of legal malpractice which goes in term of breaching the fiduciary duty. A legal malpractice lawyer will help you file a lawsuit suing your attorney to recover your loss.
Examples of Legal Malpractice
In addition to the above types of legal malpractice, there is a varied range of cases where you will need the assistance of a legal malpractice attorney. Listed below are a few of the most common examples for demonstrating legal malpractice.
- Incompetent Attorney
If you have enough evidence to prove that you lost your legal case because of your attorney’s incompetence or lack of knowledge to carry out their job skillfully then you may consider filing a malpractice claim against them. However, this will need you to prove that your case wasn’t handled properly which resulted in losing the case.
- Communication Failure
Nothing is more frustrating than facing the situation when your lawyer is unable to communicate with you about your case details. It may also require you to look for another attorney to represent your story in the middle of the case which isn’t only very difficult but also can lead to adverse results.
An attorney mustn’t neglect lawyer-client communication or return your call for a longer period of time, they may be found guilty of abandoning you as the client which is an obvious violence of ethical duties of a lawyer.
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