Legal Malpractice Attorney

A legal malpractice attorney is required when a lawyer fails to provide competent services to their client. If their incompetent actions as a lawyer causes damages for their client, it could be a case of legal malpractice. While communication is always important when dealing with your attorney, if it gets to the point that it is obvious legal malpractice has occurred and a legal malpractice attorney is needed, give us a call at Scott Mullins and Company.

Legal Malpractice Attorney

Here at Scott Mullins and Company, we work hard and diligently to assist our clients in all facets of injury caused by others. Many clients think that if no physical harm was done, they do not have a case. Injury can be more than just physical and can include emotional and financial damages. In the event of legal malpractice, the person you trusted most to protect you throughout the legal process let you down. It is not acceptable for the incompetency of an individual, whether a lawyer or not, to cause you injury and make your life worse than it should be. Scott Mullins and Company can provide you the professional and effective services that your previous attorney did not.

A lawyer has a responsibility to you. Upon working with you, the attorney owes you a duty to provide responsible and competent legal services. If your previous lawyer made a mistake that harmed you and/or caused you damages and was in violation of the duty you were owed, let us know and we can schedule you an appointment with a legal malpractice attorney.

Give us a call today and be sure to act as soon as you suspect legal malpractice. You have to act within the statute of limitations, and the faster we can get your case evaluated, the faster we can have resolution.

What is legal malpractice?

Legal malpractice is the failure of a lawyer to render competent professional service to a client. If the client is damaged as a result of the failure, he or she may have a claim against the lawyer for legal malpractice.

My attorney did not file my case before the statute of limitations, do I have a legal malpractice case?

An attorney has a duty to his clients to provide services within a certain standard of care. If the attorney fails in his duty to act as a reasonably competent attorney would, then he may be liable for legal malpractice, a form of professional malpractice. Failing to file a lawsuit on time may constitute legal malpractice.

My lawyer does not return my phone calls, can I file a legal malpractice case against him?

Sometimes attorneys do a poor job of communicating with their clients. This does not mean the attorney has committed legal malpractice. Your attorney may be actively working on your case but just not communicating with you. Most of the time a simple phone call or letter to your attorney, setting forth your concerns, is enough to help the lawyer understand it is important for him or her to keep you informed. If you are not satisfied with your attorney’s level of communication with you, you may consider seeking representation from another attorney.

Is my attorney able to settle my case without my consent?

Generally, the answer to this question is no. The lawyer must consult with the client concerning any settlement offer, and generally it is for the client to decide whether or not to accept. This rule is subject to a few limited exceptions, such as in class-actions, certain insurance defense cases and when the client has validly relinquished to a third-party any rights regarding a settlement. Other than these limited exceptions, a lawyer is required to consult with a client and shall abide by the client’s decision concerning settlement.

What must be proven to win a legal malpractice case?

To win a legal malpractice case, you must prove four points:

  • Your attorney owed you a duty to act within an established standard of care.
  • Your attorney breached that duty by acting negligently, not following through with the agreement or possibly making mistakes which a reasonable attorney would not have made.
  • Your attorney’s behavior caused you damage. This includes proving that the results of your case would have been different (for example, you would have won the case) had the attorney acted properly.
  • You suffered a financial loss as a result of the behavior.