What is legal malpractice?
It is a claim against your former lawyer for damages caused you because the lawyer failed to follow the care a lawyer in that specialty area would and should have given to your legal matter.
Can I sue a lawyer who represented my opponent in a case?
Generally, no.
Can I sue a lawyer who never agreed to represent me?
Yes, sometimes; call us and we will review the facts.
How long do I have to sue a lawyer?
One year from 1) the date of last representation; 2) the date of negligence; 3) the date a reasonable person should have first investigated whether malpractice occurred whichever of these three is later.
Does my lawyer have a legal duty to tell me if he or she made a mistake that could or did hurt me?
Yes, under our legal ethical rules, a lawyer does have that duty. You can and should demand your lawyer to tell you what is going on and if it did or can hurt you.
What are some common mistakes that a lawyer makes?
- Not filing suit on time
- Not bringing the right claims
- Not investigating your claim
- Not giving you the right advice
- Not telling you the probable risks or benefits of a certain course of action
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Missing deadlines or not filing replies to briefs and motions that cause your case to get dismissed once it is filed
How do I find out if my lawyer committed malpractice?
You have to contact a lawyer. That lawyer has to review all the facts and ultimately your lawyer's file and get an opinion from another lawyer in your case's specialty. Contact us to find out exactly what needs to be done in your fact situation to get the answer.
Is it expensive to bring a legal malpractice case?
Yes. You actually need two lawyers in a legal malpractice case. The first lawyer you need is the lawyer who is prosecuting or bringing your claim. The second lawyer you need is the lawyer hired by your malpractice lawyer to act as your expert. That expert testifies as to the deviation of the standard of care by the lawyer you are suing. You may need other experts as well. Sometimes you need a doctor because if you're underlying case involved medicine, you may need experts in medicine as to the underlying case that was not handled correctly, or even liability experts in the underlying case. This is why these cases are very expensive to pursue. Our firm generally will not handle a legal malpractice case unless there are clear damages that exceed $100,000 because if we do so, the client only ends up paying the lawyers and experts and not retaining enough of the money for themselves to make it worth the clients' risk in bringing the malpractice case to begin with.
What if my lawyer actually committed an intentional tort or took my money that I entrusted him or did something fraudulent rather than something just negligent?
Negligence is covered by legal malpractice insurance. Fraudulent, intentional and punitive conduct is not covered by insurance. The return of legal fees is not covered by insurance. Therefore, when you are reviewing a malpractice case with your malpractice attorney, and we would be delighted to do that for you. It is often important to ensure that you can actually recover a judgment because there is available insurance to pay it. You have to be able to divide those damages that are caused by the intentional versus negligent conduct. In other words those damages that were caused by your lawyer that is covered by insurance and those that is not. Contact our firm and we can help you do so.
Are there other procedures that I can bring against a lawyer outside of malpractice, and if so, what are they?
All lawyers are subject to disciplinary procedures. legal malpractice does not equate necessarily to an ethical violation. However, contact us and we can help you to review the facts and determine if the conduct of your lawyer requires other actions, as well as a malpractice suit. For example, intentional misconduct is covered by the Clients' Security Fund, a fund that will pay up to $75,000 for the lawyer's intentional misconduct if that lawyer is no longer collectable. In addition, there are grievance procedures that can be brought by various grievance boards throughout the State of Ohio if your lawyer overstepped his ethical bounds and violated the ethical rules. This is something we can assist you in to ensure you bring the right claims in the right places. Almost all of these types of claims need to be brought within one year of the date of either the negligence or fraudulent conduct or one year from your last representation by that lawyer or one year after a reasonable person should have investigated whether malpractice occurred. The key is one year and the next key is you should do this and investigate this immediately because that year is defined differently depending upon whether it is a Clients' Security Fund case or a malpractice case. The ethical rules are set by another guideline. Contact us and we will assist you with the entire fact situation.
How do I get my file from a lawyer who used to represent me and do I have a right to it?
Not only do you have a right to your file, you have a right to the original file. There is no acceptable reason including the fact that you owe an attorney fees or expenses for that attorney not to provide you the original file. You do not have to pay for the original file. You have an absolute right and are entitled to it. You do not have to pay for a copy. You do not have to pay for the lawyer's copy. The best way to get it is to send a letter to that lawyer and ask for the original file keeping a copy of your letter for your file. Advise the lawyer the date and time you will come in to pick up your original file and give the lawyer reasonable time to copy that file. One week should be adequate. You list the date and time that you are coming and you advise the lawyer to contact you if that date and time is not reasonable, but that you will be there unless you hear from the lawyer or the lawyer actually contacts you and gives you a replacement date or time. If you do not get your file after one request, contact us and we will give you help and assistance to do so. You can also contact your nearest grievance committee which will also assist you in getting your file.
What do I have to prove to win a malpractice case?
Generally the first thing you have to prove is that your lawyer deviated from the standard of care, that is, your lawyer was negligent. Second, you have to prove that your lawyer's negligence caused you damage. If that lawyer was handling a case for you and that case was lost because of the lawyer's negligence, you have to show that your case would have won and how much money you would have won if it were handled correctly. This is commonly called proving a case within a case. That is why legal malpractice cases are so expensive to pursue. First, you have to show your lawyer's negligence with an expert and then you have show that you would have won the underlying case. If that requires experts, we have to retain whatever experts which are necessary to retain in order to show that. Other elements of damages are if your lawyer was not handling a case, but was doing a document to show what things you lost because the document was not done or was not done correctly. It is hard to be anything other than simple in responding to this. We will take all of the time that is necessary if you contact us to walk you through this entire process so that you understand it.
