Keep in mind that if you are successfully sued and the court issues a judgment against you, you may be forced to pay a significant amount of money and may risk damage to your credit rating. For this reason, you may wish to attempt to settle the lawsuit before actually going to court.
As soon as you become aware of a potential lawsuit, even if you have not yet been sued, it is a good idea to seek legal advice. If you cannot afford an attorney of your own, contact a local advocacy group or legal clinic to see if you qualify for free or low-cost services.
Here are five common reasons lawyers get sued along with real-life cases of lawyers who have encountered such lawsuits. 1. Claims of negligence. It’s not uncommon for clients to feel their lawyer was negligent or breached their contract or fiduciary duty—especially when they don’t win their case.
Craig Robinson, a Philadelphia lawyer-turned-reality TV star, was recently sued for malpractice by ex-clients Luis and Migdalia Santiago, who alleged that Robinson “neglected and abandoned” them after he was cast as a contestant on The Bachelorette in 2010, according to LawyersAndSettlements.com. The Santiagos also sued Robinson’s former firm, Haggerty, Goldberg, Schleifer & Kupersmith, alleging that it assigned them a different lawyer who was ill-prepared to handle their personal injury case.
The co-defendant, Tavon Davis, had Callaway killed soon after Feldman disclosed that information to him, the lawsuit claims. Callaway’s family members sought more than $40 million in damages, according to The Baltimore Sun.
San Antonio lawyer and attorney general candidate Jamie Balagia—who calls himself “The DWI Dude”—was sued in May for professional misconduct by the State Bar of Texas’ disciplinary unit. Balagia was accused of keeping $50,000 that was seized by law enforcement from his client Jill McKeown, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
Houston divorce attorney Guillermo De La Garza and his firm Bill De La Garza & Associates PC were sued in 2009 for $50,000 by former client Randal Mack Hall, who claimed that De La Garza poorly managed the paperwork, among several other claims, according to The Southeast Texas Record.
Negligence. Negligence is the most common grounds for a malpractice lawsuit. It happens when your attorney fails to use the skill and care normally expected of a competent attorney. For example, you might have grounds for a negligence suit if your lawyer missed an important deadline, failed to prepare for trial, or failed to follow court orders.
If you’re not happy with your lawyer, you can: Switch lawyers. If you haven’t suffered much damage yet, you may want to consider simply hiring a new lawyer. You’re free to switch lawyers at any time, except in rare cases.
Most legal malpractice cases are based on negligence. To win this type of case, you must prove all of the following: 1 Your lawyer owed you a duty to competently represent you. 2 Your lawyer breached that duty. 3 Your lawyer's breach caused you to suffer a financial loss.
The time limit for filing a legal malpractice case can be as short as one year.
Breach of contract. Breach of contract occurs when a lawyer violates a specific term of the lawyer’s agreement with a client. For example, if your contract says that your lawyer will create a corporation for you by a certain date, the lawyer must stick to that agreement. Breach of fiduciary duty. Lawyers owe certain fiduciary duties ...
Breach of fiduciary duty. Lawyers owe certain fiduciary duties to their clients, such as the duty of loyalty and duty of confidentiality. Your lawyer must act in your best interests and must keep your communications confidential.
Lawyers owe certain fiduciary duties to their clients, such as the duty of loyalty and duty of confidentiality. Your lawyer must act in your best interests and must keep your communications confidential.
If your attorney made serious errors, you may consider suing the lawyer for malpractice. Unfortunately, it is very hard to win a malpractice case. Malpractice means that the lawyer failed to use the ordinary skill and care that would be used by other lawyers in handling a similar problem or case under similar circumstances. In other words, it's not malpractice just because your lawyer lost your case.
If you seriously suspect your lawyer has misused any money he holds for you in trust, complain to your state's attorney regulatory agency right away. Although regulation of lawyers is lax in most states, complaints about stealing clients' money are almost always taken seriously, so you should get a prompt response.
If the case doesn't settle during the discovery process, you will likely be required to attend proceedings later, likely including an arbitration and, if the case never settles, a trial. Your lawyer will thoroughly prepare you for all of these events.
You open it and find two formal legal documents: a summons and a complaint. The summons officially informs you that you have been sued. The complaint contains the formal allegations made by the plaintiff (s) in the case against you, the defendant or one of the defendants. The allegations arise out of circumstances for which you are insured: an ...
If you have lost or cannot find these documents, call the agent who sold you the policy or look in the phone book and call the insurance company directly.
David Hughes worked as a researcher and writer for two California litigation law firms between 1988 and 2005, and has worked on a freelance basis since then. His areas of expertise include personal injury litigation plaintiff and defense, medical malpractice plaintiff, contract law especially contracts of insurance, insurance bad faith litigation defense, insurance coverage opinion letters, administrative law defense . He also taught English in China and Azerbaijan for eight years and worked as a welder in shipyards in the San Francisco Bay Area for seven years. He is an outdoorsman and loves being in the mountains.
If you believe you have a valid complaint about how your lawyer has handled your case, inform the organization that governs law licenses in your state. Usually this is the disciplinary board of the highest court in your state. In some states, the state bar association is responsible for disciplining lawyers.
A lack of communication causes many problems. If your lawyer appears to have acted improperly, or did not do something that you think he or she should have done, talk with your lawyer about it. You may be satisfied once you understand the circumstances better. I have tried to discuss my complaints with my lawyer.
In a lawyer-client relationship, acting responsibly involves duties on both sides—and often involves some hard work. You have a right to expect competent representation from your lawyer. However, every case has at least two sides. If you are unhappy with your lawyer, it is important to determine the reasons.
Communication. A lawyer must be able to communicate effectively with a client. When a client asks for an explanation, the lawyer must provide it within a reasonable time. A lawyer must inform a client about changes in a case caused by time and circumstances. Fees.
A lawyer must be loyal to his or her client. This means that a lawyer cannot represent two clients who are on opposite sides in the same or related lawsuits. And, ordinarily, there can be no representation of a client whose interests would conflict with the lawyer’s interests.
For example, a lawyer may not be involved in writing a will for a client who leaves the lawyer substantial money or property in that will. Keeping Clients’ Property. If a lawyer is holding a client’s money or property, it must be kept safely and separately from the lawyer’s own funds and belongings.
A lawyer must be able to communicate effectively with a client . When a client asks for an explanation, the lawyer must provide it within a reasonable time. A lawyer must inform a client about changes in a case caused by time and circumstances. Fees.
A lawyer may also agree to take on your case for no charge, also known as pro bono. Lastly, there are legal aid services available which may be available to you for little or no charge. , Legal scholar; studied for the bar in Arizona.
If you are insured, an insurance company may hire an attorney to defend the claim on your behalf. A lawyer may also agree to take on your case for no charge, also known as pro bono. Lastly, there are legal aid services available which may be available to you for little or no charge. 1.6K views. Terry Lambert.
You hire a Lawyer because he is a professional in the field of Law. He knows the law, knows the procedure, knows how to draft, knows the Courts, understands the Judges, and can speak well enough to present your case in the correct perspective.
Legal representation is a right reserved for the criminally charged, at least in the US. There is no right to an attorney in civil litigation matters, only in criminal cases and only to the extent where it can be shown you are indigent or have an overriding reason you cannot provide your own legal defense.
Gabriel Weinberg. , CEO & Founder, DuckDuckGo (2008-present) Updated May 13, 2021. You may know that Google is tracking you, but most people don't realize the extent of it. Luckily, there are simple steps you can take to dramatically reduce Google's tracking.