When it comes to the attorney and client relationship, you rely on your attorney to value and respect it. According to Embroker, when a lawyer does not meet your expected standards, he or she may have committed legal malpractice.
Knowing the most common legal malpractice claims can help you understand if you have a malpractice case.
Financial misuse
If you pay a retainer to your attorney, those funds go towards your legal fees. At the end of the case, you may receive some of your retainer back. When you give the funds to the lawyer, he or she has to put it into a trust account. If the lawyer puts the retainer into a personal account, then he or she committed financial misuse.
Missed deadlines
Missed deadlines are the most common in legal malpractice. When you hire a lawyer, you rely on him or her to pay attention to the deadlines. In fact, many people hire lawyers because it is easier to track deadlines with an attorney. Sometimes lawyers may miss deadlines to file court documents and can sabotage your case. You could have your case dismissed and lose money due to failure to keep track of the appropriate dates.
Lack of consent
When you meet with your attorney, you provide him or her with your objectives. The attorney’s job is to take the objective and create a strategy based on it. Once the attorney decides on a strategy, he or she has to run it by you. The lawyer cannot move forward unless you give written or verbal consent.
Attorneys should always let you know what to expect and live up to those standards throughout the duration of your relationship.