What Is Considered Malpractice for an Attorney?
Let’s talk about what is considered malpractice for an attorney. According to the American Bar Association, most lawyers have a 4% to 17% chance of being sued every year.
This is also referred to as legal malpractice wherein a lawyer isn’t doing what they are supposed to do. As a result, the error negatively affected their client. As you would know, lawyers need to dutifully follow ethical and professional standards. If proven that they did not follow the set standards, they can get sued.
It’s important to understand what malpractice for an attorney is so you can also protect yourself in case you require their services.
When Can You Sue Your Lawyer for Malpractice?
To consider when someone committed legal malpractice is not as easy as feeling or assuming that your attorney didn’t work hard to win your case. Apart from negligence, it must be proven that your attorney was in breach of a contract and there were actions violated as stipulated in the American Bar Association’s Rules of Professional Conduct. This is adopted by all state bars except California.
How to Prove That Your Attorney Committed A Malpractice?
If you believe your lawyer has committed malpractice, you need to prove it. However, take note that this is not an easy feat. You need to provide clear causation as you need to clearly show the court that you would have won or prevailed if your attorney has followed the Rules of Professional Conduct.
You need to be reasonable as well. For example, while your lawyer needs to communicate with you regularly, failure to return all your calls is not a form of neglect.
Going back, if you are certain that your lawyer has mishandled your case, you need to do the following:
- Get as much evidence showing that your lawyer was negligent
- Fire your attorney and hire a new one experienced enough in legal malpractice claims
We also need to remind you that there are other alternatives for filing a malpractice claim. This is a costly route that’s why we encourage you to try the following first. You can report the lawyer to the state’s disciplinary board or get a new lawyer if the damage is not serious.
What Are the Usual Terms To Understand?
Below are a few terms you must know when filing a legal malpractice claim.
Neglect
This is when your attorney has disregarded their duty due to a number of causes, including being indifferent and careless.
Conflict of Interest
This is a situation wherein a person has a duty to multiple persons or organizations, and they cannot do justice to the interest of both parties.
What Are the Most Common Lawyer Malpractice Mistakes?
Below are the common legal malpractices and it’s always good that you understand it before filing for a claim.
Planning Error
A planning error is commonly a judgmental or strategic mistake. Your lawyer should check and consider all plausible strategies for your case. For example, they made a judgment error even if they have all the right knowledge of the facts and resources at the get-go.
Inadequate Discovery of Facts
In this case, certain facts were not discovered but should have been if a careful investigation was conducted. It is the responsibility of your lawyer to exhaust all efforts to find facts. They should review and revisit these facts and try to see if there’s a missing link.
Failure to Schedule or Calendar Properly
Time is important for legal proceedings and anything related to your case or claims. When your attorney misses a deadline, that can affect the entire case. It can also be costly for them. This is the reason an attorney needs to be highly organized or must seek assistance to plot all schedules.
Failure to Know or Properly Apply the Law
This is the number one error in legal malpractices. It is when an attorney conducted research but did not understand the right principles. Likewise, the attorney is not aware of the legal principles involved.
In most cases, this affects attorneys who choose not to work with a partner. Because of this, they are more prone to not fully understanding the right principles compared to those who work with others. For this reason, it’s best to look for a firm where they have already established a good team of lawyers. That way, they can help each other out when preparing for the case.
If you are looking for accident injury lawyers in Orlando, Warner and Warner is here to help you. We work as a team to ensure that every area of your case is covered.
Misappropriation
In most cases, lawyers will require a retainer or an upfront fee. This should be used for all the costs related to your claim. Now, if the lawyer uses the money for their personal needs, you may have a legal malpractice claim.
How to Find The Right Law Firm?
Today, there are many law firms and it’s quite overwhelming to choose the right team for you. What we encourage is to look for different teams first and set criteria before finalizing an agreement.
Years of Experience and Track Record
Experience is crucial when finding the right law firm. But apart from that, their area of expertise must be considered as well. For example, if you are looking for a firm that handles legal malpractices claims, then ask if the firm specializes in that. If you want accident injury lawyers, there are firms handling that as well such as Warner and Warner in Orlando.
Process of Communication
When working with a law firm, they should know how to clearly communicate the strategies to their clients. As much as possible, they simplify the terms so the clients can fully understand what’s the next course of action. They also constantly inform the clients about updates and keep them in the loop.
Hire Warner and Warner Attorneys at Law
Warner and Warner is one of the top-rated accident injury law firms in Orlando. We have proven our quality of service with all the cases we’ve handled. With us, we want to ensure that you receive the justice you deserve. Call us right now at 321 450 7928 for a free case review or contact us through our form.
