What Forms the Basis for Legal Malpractice?

There are very few times in a person’s life when he needs to enlist the help of an attorney, but usually it is a stressful time where he is trusting in his lawyer to do the best job possible for him. When that attorney fails to act in with the requisite skill, care, and diligence that another attorney with the same skills and knowledge would reasonably have acted then he may have committed legal malpractice if his actions lead to harm to the client.

Is it obvious that my attorney may have committed malpractice?

If you have suspicions about how your attorney managed your case then the best thing to do is to consult an experienced legal malpractice attorney who can analyze your case with you and determine if mistakes were made.

What is the basis of an attorney/client relationship?

The heart of a legal malpractice claim is the relationship that exists between you and your attorney. When you seek advice from an attorney on behalf of yourself or a business and the attorney provides a legal opinion pursuant to a written agreement or implicit contractual relationship, then the attorney has a legally binding obligation to act in accordance with the standard of care. An implicit contractual relationship may be found based on the actions of both the attorney and the client. There are some attorneys who will defend against a legal malpractice action by disputing the relationship with the client.

Can I recover damages if I cannot prove that I had a contractual relationship with my attorney?

You probably would not be able to recover damages in this case. In a legal malpractice action, the first element that must be demonstrated is that there was an attorney/client relationship. There are limited instances when a non-client can bring an action against an attorney based on advice on which the person relied or harm that a person suffered because of false information provided by the attorney.

What standard must the attorney satisfy?

When an attorney represents a client, he must exercise the skill, care, and diligence that a reasonable attorney with similar experience and knowledge would exercise under similar circumstances. It is necessary to consider the different actions that the attorney could have taken and how much time the attorney had to make the decision and carry out the appropriate tasks. The attorney is not held to a standard where he must act with extraordinary skill, care, and diligence, but merely must meet the minimum requirement. It is not necessarily a breach if the attorney does not choose to pursue what an objective analyst would determine to be the best possible option.

Is there a difference between a bad decision and malpractice?

Yes. An attorney acting in good faith with the best interest of the client as the motivator who nonetheless makes the wrong decision will not be found liable of legal malpractice if he acted in accordance with the standard of care.

There are many other questions that a client questioning whether his attorney committed legal malpractice may have. The best thing to do is sit down with the knowledgeable and dedicated malpractice attorneys at Greer Injury Lawyers, PLLC to discuss your case and determine how to move forward. There is no harm in talking with us, even if you ultimately decide not to pursue a malpractice case. To schedule a free and confidential meeting, please call us at 888-470-9143. At Greer Injury Lawyers, PLLC, we are small enough to care, big enough to fight, and experienced enough to win.