Claims against Attorneys on the Rise

Legal Malpractice Claims against attorneys from 1995 to 1999 have more than doubled. Lawyer's victims are repeat victims: you have been harmed in the original case you sought legal advice on; and you have been harmed a second time by the lawyers who you hired to represent you!

There are many forms of legal malpractice: missing the statute of limitations; incorrect title searches in real estate transactions; breach of fiduciary duty, RICO and consumer protection statutes, conflict of interest; substandard performance causing economic harm; and charging excessive fees, to name a few.

To win a legal malpractice case against your attorney, a plaintiff must generally prove: the existence of an attorney-client relationship; acts constituting negligence or breach of contract; that such acts proximately caused plaintiff's damages; and without the legal malpractice, the plaintiff would have been successful in the underlying action. A legal negligence lawsuit usually becomes a "case within a case." The first consideration is whether the original attorney was negligent. The second issue is whether the first case would have been successful. Two additional factors that we look at is: whether there is adequate insurance to cover the financial loss and the amount of damages of the underlining cause of action;

IF YOU HAVE BEEN ECONOMICALLY HARMED BY PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE, please click on your state below: