Any type of malpractice case can be difficult to prove because it is the responsibility of the plaintiff to show that the negligence of the professional practitioner lead directly to damaging results. If you feel as though you are the victim of legal malpractice, then you need to be sure to hire an attorney with experience in this area. When attorneys scrutinize the work of other attorneys, then it is important to have an expert on your side.
The most important, and most difficult, part of any legal malpractice suit is proving that the offending attorney was negligent in their duties. When a client signs a document handed to them by their attorney, that client trusts that attorney implicitly. That is one of the reasons why legal malpractice lawsuits tend to be emotionally charged, and it is also a big reason why clients have a difficult time understanding what went wrong.
If an attorney's actions were negligent for many years, then the client may not even realize it until the damage is significant. A court would want to know why a client would allow an attorney's negligence to go on for so long, and that can make proving negligence difficult.
The legal field is a complicated profession, and the actions of an attorney could have indirect results that the client did not intend. When filing a legal malpractice case, the client has to prove that the actions of the allegedly negligent attorney were directly responsible for the damage the client sustained. In a world where contracts can read like they are in a foreign language, tracing negligence back to the offending attorney can be extremely difficult.
Most clients simply assume that their attorney is responsible for all of the legal aspects of a particular matter. Attorneys are not mind readers, and it is up to the client to ask any questions they may have about a contract or legal arrangement.
Many legal malpractice lawsuits are created out of a misunderstanding between the client and their attorney. But in those legitimate instances where the attorney breaches their responsibilities, it is important that the client be able to prove that sort of negligence to get the justice they deserve.
One of the responsibilities of an attorney is to create a schedule of filing deadlines that must be met for a client's case. It is important that clients ask for this schedule, and that they take the time to review it with their attorney.
Missing a deadline for filing important documents could destroy a client's case, and it is a clear cut example of legal malpractice. Clients who are damaged by an attorney who misses deadlines should waste no time in finding an experienced attorney to try and revive the case, and file a lawsuit against the offending attorney.
When legal malpractice occurs, a client needs to understand their responsibilities in proving that their original attorney was negligent. While the client will be interested in finding a competent and experienced attorney who can get their case back up and going, the client should also be concerned with a legal malpractice suit that will allow them to collect damages from a negeligent attorney.
