The world we live in is increasingly complex, requiring many people to sign contracts or participate in other legal processes for basic things like gaining employment or buying or selling valuable property. Navigating the complex laws that govern different areas of our lives is rarely simple, making high quality legal guidance an increasingly important part of everyday living.
Unfortunately, as greater numbers of people seek attorneys to guide them through legal processes, more people receive poor guidance that ultimately costs them financially and may even impact other areas of their lives. When this happens, victims of legal malpractice often feel helpless to fight back.
If you or someone you know suffered losses because of legal malpractice, there is no need to feel helpless. Just as a medical malpractice claim may help a victim of subpar medical care recover fair compensation, a strong legal strategy can help you recover from the impact of your attorney’s negligence or poor guidance. The sooner that you begin building this strategy, the sooner you can protect your rights and your future opportunities.
Is it malpractice?
Not all bad experiences working with an attorney count as legal malpractice. Like all business relationships, attorney-client interactions can turn sour without anyone breaking the law or violating the other’s rights. Legal malpractice claims must demonstrate that an attorney or team of attorneys:
- Had a duty to represent the victim
- Committed some act or neglected to act in a way that breached their duty
- Harmed the victim through their legal failure or neglect
- Caused financial loss or some other compensable loss
If your experience features all four of these elements, then you may have a strong legal malpractice claim. You should begin building your claim quickly, to give you the greatest chance of full recovery.
Demonstrating causation
Part of the difficulty in pursuing legal malpractice claims is demonstrating that the failure or neglect of your legal representation actually caused the harm you suffered or the losses you experienced. While it may seem as though the losses or harm follow clearly from the legal failures, this is not always easy to prove.
Don’t waste any time building a strong claim to protect yourself. You deserve fair treatment in all of your personal and professional relationships, and may have strong grounds to file a claim over a bad experience with legal counsel.