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How to Sue Your Attorney for toccoa malpractice lawsuit

To pursue an attorney's negligence, you must to prove that the breach of duty caused financial, legal or other implications for you. You must demonstrate that there is a direct link between the attorney's negligence and the negative results.

Legal malpractice does not cover matters of strategy. If you lose a case because your lawyer didn't file the lawsuit on time it could be a case of negligence.

Inappropriate use of funds

One of the most frequent types of legal malpractice is a lawyer's misuse of funds. Lawyers are in a fiduciary relationship with their clients and are expected to act with the highest degree of trust and fidelity, especially when handling money or other property that the client has handed over to them.

When a client makes a payment for their retainer the lawyer is obligated by law to keep that money in an escrow fund that is only utilized for that particular case. If the lawyer co-mingles the account with their personal funds or utilizes it for any other purpose that is a clear breach of the fiduciary obligation and could result in legal fraud.

Imagine, for example the scenario where a client hires an attorney to represent him in a lawsuit filed against a motorist whose car hit them as they crossed the street. The client can prove the driver's negligence and that the accident caused their injuries. The lawyer, however, does not follow the law and is unable to file the case on time. The lawsuit is dismissed and the person who was injured is financially harmed because of the lawyer's error.

The statute of limitations limit the time you have to pursue a lawyer's malpractice. It can be a challenge to calculate when an injury or loss was caused by negligence of the lawyer. A New York attorney who is proficient in malpractice law can explain the statute of limitation and help you determine if you are eligible for an action.

Disobedience to the Rules of Professional Conduct

Legal malpractice occurs the case when a lawyer doesn't follow generally accepted professional standards and results in harm to the client. It requires the same four elements as most torts, which include an attorney-client relationship as well as a duty, breach, and proximate causality.

Some examples of malpractice are the lawyer combining their personal and trust funds, failing timely to file suit within time limits, taking cases where they are not competent, failing to conduct a conflict check and not being up to the latest court proceedings, or any new legal developments that could impact the case. Lawyers also have a responsibility to communicate with clients in a reasonable way. This is not limited to email and faxes, but also the ability to return phone calls promptly.

It is also possible for attorneys to engage in fraud. It can be done by lying to the client or any other person who is involved in the case. In this situation, it is important to have all the facts at your possession to determine if the attorney was untruthful. A breach of the agreement between the attorney and client occurs when an attorney takes a case outside their expertise without informing the client of this or advising them to seek independent counsel.

Inability to inform

When a client employs a lawyer, it means that their legal issue has become beyond their skill and knowledge. They are unable solve the issue by themselves. It is the lawyer's duty to inform clients of the advantages of a case, the costs and risks associated with it, and their rights. If an attorney fails to do this, they could be guilty of malpractice.

Many legal malpractice cases stem from poor communication between attorneys and their clients. A lawyer may not answer a phone calls or fail to inform their clients about a specific decision made in their behalf. An attorney may also be unable to share important information about an instance or fail to disclose known problems with an transaction.

It is possible to claim a lawyer's Villa Park Malpractice Law Firm, but a client must prove that they were able to recover financial losses as a result due to the negligence of the attorney. The losses have to be documented, which will require evidence such as files of the client emails, correspondence between the attorney and the client, as well bills. In cases of fraud or theft an expert witness could be required to examine the case.

Failure to Follow the Law

Attorneys are obligated to follow the law and know how it applies in specific circumstances. If they don't and they don't, they could be found guilty of malpractice. Examples include commingling client funds with their own or using settlement proceeds for personal expenses, and failing to exercise basic due diligence.

Other examples of legal malpractice include failing to file a lawsuit within the statute of limitation and not filing the suit by the deadlines set by the court and not following the Rules of Professional Conduct. Attorneys are also obligated to disclose any conflicts of interests. They must disclose to clients any personal or financial interest which could affect their judgment when representing them.

Finally, attorneys are obligated to follow the instructions of their clients. If a client instructs them to take a particular action an attorney must follow the instructions unless there is an obvious reason that it is not advantageous or is not feasible.

To win a malpractice lawsuit the plaintiff has to prove that the lawyer breached their duty of care. This can be a challenge, since it requires proof that the defendant's actions, or inaction, caused damages. It is not enough to prove that the attorney's error caused a negative outcome. A malpractice claim must also show that there was a substantial probability that the plaintiff's case would have been won if the defendant had followed standard procedures.