Legal Malpractice Attorney NYC – Holding Law Professionals Accountable After Malpractice
Table of Contents
When you seek advice or representation from an attorney, you naturally expect that this person or firm is going to act in your best interest – following general standards and codes of ethical and professional conduct.
Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Law firms don’t always get it right – and when they take a misstep, for any reason, your life can be permanently affected.
If you feel like an attorney or law firm has mishandled your case – even if it’s just a suspicion – you should speak to a legal malpractice lawyer. Your free consultation will help identify whether there’s a case. If there is, we’ll do everything we can to get you the justice and financial compensation you deserve.
Some Examples of Legal Malpractice Cases
Legal malpractice is a complex area of the law – but it’s an area our team have vast experience with.
Here, we’ve explored some of the improper, negligent, or illegal behaviours that can lead to a legal malpractice claim. If you think any of these could apply to your relationship with an attorney, it’s essential that you contact us as soon as possible.
Neglecting clients
Your lawyer is working for you – so they should be keeping you informed about your case and any developments. If they’re not returning client calls, not relaying settlement offers, and avoiding client communication can result in a client not receiving the representation they deserve.
Discussing a case with other people
Lawyers should treat communications with clients as confidential matters. Openly discussing your claim can risk damaging your position in your case and could result in damages for you.
Making decisions without you
As the person who has suffered damages, you’re the person who should be making decisions about your case. If this isn’t the case, your attorney could be guilty of medical malpractice.
For instance, if a personal injury lawyer decides to settle your case without very clear approval from you, they are not including your in the decision making process as they should.
Conflict of Interest
A ‘conflict of interest’ occurs when a lawyer is involved with a case that compromises how they represent your case. Your best interests should always be your attorney’s best interests – so if they’re not, you may be able to bring a legal malpractice claim.
Civil Litigation Errors
There’s a lot that can go wrong with a civil litigation case – so your lawyer needs to focused and competent when they represent you. They should file your claim in a timely fashion, find the right defendant, handle discovery correctly, comply with the court, present evidence correctly, use witnesses correctly, object to a improper conduct by the defense, and appeal if appropriate.
If even one of these steps is mishandled, it can lead to diminished compensation for you – or, in the worst cases, a requirement for you to pay compensation to the other party.
Lawyer Negligence
As attorneys, we’re held to very high standards. If your lawyer fails to behave with the same level of care and attention that other attorneys apply to the same kind of work, they could be guilty of outright professional negligence. Most legal malpractice claims involve some element of negligent behaviour by a law firm or attorney.
Commingling of Funds
When you pay a New York attorney, they have a strict ‘fiduciary duty’ – meaning they should not mix your funds with their own as they handle your case. If this ‘commingling’ of funds occurs, it can lead to embezzlement – either unintentionally or intentionally. If you think your funds are being mishandled, you could have a legal malpractice case.
Due Diligence
Due dilligence is the process that all lawyers should carry out to ensure the evidence they present is strong and valid. This means an in-depth investigation on behalf of the law firm – which, if not done correctly, can severely compromise your case. If the correct levels of due dilligence are not being carried out on your case, you may be able to sue for legal malpractice.
Ethics Complaints
There is an extremely strict set of rules that state how a New York attorney should act when they represent you. If your lawyer breaches any part of this New York Code of Professional Ethics and you have suffered damages as a result, you are right to explore legal malpractice litigation.
Pretrial and Trial Malpractice
As your case approaches trial and is then heard in a New York court, your lawyer should be fully prepared and fully competent. This means handling any settlement offer correctly – including allowing you to make fully informed decisions around how to proceed. It also means providing the highest-standard of legal representation against any defense.
If you feel that your attorney has failed to provide the representation you needed, you should speak to a New York legal malpractice lawyer to help you understand if malpractice occurred.
How Long Do I Have to File a Legal Malpractice Claim?
New York operates with a strict statute of limitations around legal malpractice cases. You have three years from the date that the malpractice occured in which to file a malpractice claim.
Three years can feel like a long time – but it’s in your best interests to move as quickly as possible to bring your claim. Adding additional time between the malpractice and the case only makes things more difficult; witness recollection becomes less reliable, paperwork can be more difficult to obtain, and the chance of a positive outcome can sometimes be reduced.
Don’t snooze – act today. If you’ve suffered damages as a result of legal malpractice, you deserve financial compensation to help put your life back on track.
Speak to professional liability
attorneys at Sakkas, Cahn and Weiss, LLP. today
It might feel like you need in-depth understanding of the legal system to understand whether you have a legal malpractice claim – but you don’t. You simply need the right representation.
Here at the New York law offices of Sakkas, Cahn and Weiss, LLP. we have the expertise and experience needed to help you understand if you have a case – and, if so, how to take the case forward to best ensure you receive the appropriate compensation for your damages.
When you book a free consultation with us, we’ll start by listening. When we understand the impact that a lawyer’s incompenant, ill-judged, or unethical behaviour has had on your life, we’ll talk to you about how we’ll fight your case. You can expect empathy and care when we talk with you – but focus and aggression when fight for justice on your behalf.
