Legal malpractice law addresses situations where a lawyer's professional failure harms a client. Lawyers, like other professionals, owe their clients a duty of competent and diligent service, and when they fall short in a way that causes real damage, the client may have a claim.
Common situations include missing an important deadline, failing to file or pursue a case properly, a serious conflict of interest, mishandling client funds, or giving advice that falls below accepted professional standards. Not every disappointing result is malpractice; losing a case or disagreeing with a strategy is not enough on its own.
Key concepts a non-lawyer should understand are the four general elements of such a claim: the lawyer owed a duty, the lawyer breached that duty, the breach caused harm, and the client suffered an actual loss. The element of causation is often the hardest part, because the client usually must show that a competent lawyer would have produced a better outcome.
People typically seek a different attorney to evaluate a possible malpractice claim when they believe a prior lawyer's mistake cost them a case, money, or an important right. Because these claims are time-sensitive and technically demanding, an independent legal review is usually the practical first step.
