Knowing common examples of legal malpractice is crucial for understanding your rights and ensuring that your attorney provides proper representation. It also helps you recognize potential red flags in legal services, thereby protecting you from inadequate or unethical legal practices. Common examples of legal malpractice are listed below.
Missing Key Deadlines
In any legal case, the court sets deadlines that you must meet. One of the most crucial deadlines is the statute of limitations. You must file your lawsuit before this date, or you may lose the right to receive compensation. A judge may also set certain deadlines for motions and other key filings in the case. Your lawyer should keep track of all important deadlines in your case.
Failure to Conduct Appropriate Discovery
Discovery is one of the most important parts of litigation. Your attorney will gather and obtain evidence to help you build your case. Your attorney can also make a critical mistake by producing evidence on your behalf that should have never been handed over to the other party. For example, your attorney’s mismanagement of discovery could give the other party a privileged document that cannot be taken back.
Poor Legal Advice
An attorney’s job is to give clients reasonable advice based on their knowledge and experience. A lawyer should use due diligence before providing any advice to a client. While lawyers are not strictly liable for what they tell clients when anything goes wrong, they are also expected to give advice that a reasonable attorney would under the circumstances. Lawyers may use different strategies, but the one your lawyer advises you on should be plausible and reasonable.
Conflicts of Interest
A lawyer owes their client a fiduciary duty. One of the key aspects of fiduciary duty is that of loyalty. A lawyer must put your interests over their own. Unfortunately, some lawyers may violate this duty. They may represent you when they have another client that causes a conflict. You can file a lawsuit against the attorney to recover any financial losses you suffered from a breach of their fiduciary duty.
Failure to Respond
It is good business for a lawyer to promptly respond to their clients when they have questions or place phone calls. It is against a lawyer’s professional obligation to be unresponsive to clients. There is a point where a lack of responsiveness crosses the line to malpractice. If a client needs an answer from an attorney before they take a certain action, and the lawyer does not respond, the attorney could be liable if the client suffers damages.
Taking Action Without Consent
Your attorney must get your consent before they take certain actions in your case. For example, an attorney can never reach a settlement agreement on your behalf without your explicit go-ahead. This violates the duties that your lawyer owes you.
Contact Our Hunterdon County Legal Malpractice Lawyers at Tune Law Group, LLC if You Suspect Your Attorney Committed Malpractice
Our Hunterdon County legal malpractice lawyers at Tune Law Group, LLC will help you take legal action against your former lawyer who caused you losses. Call 908-434-1061 or contact us online to schedule a free initial consultation to discuss your case. Located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, we serve clients in and around Hunterdon County, Monmouth County, Whitehouse, and Tewksbury.