When you hire an attorney to help with your legal issues, whatever they might be, you’re looking for someone you can trust to uphold your rights and get you the outcome you deserve. This happens the majority of the time, but there instances of legal malpractice, and it’s your responsibility to know what to look for so you can identify and avoid them.
Here are some ABCs to help keep you informed:
• Ability. When you hired your legal representative, it was on the basis that he or she would be able carry out the responsibilities of their job – most of which are implied by the very nature of their profession. Your lawyer is a fiduciary, and assumes the duties of one. That means he or she is obligated to avoid conflicts of interest, protect your confidentiality, not engage in activities that would harm your case, etc.
• Belief. Legal malpractice suits will not be won because you believe your case was wrongly handled. That is too arbitrary. Instead, it’s going to be what the sum of evidences suggests. That means that you need to compile all of the information you have about the details of the case in question. It’s not enough to refer to how you feel, or what you thought, or what you think. You must discuss facts – what was done or not done; what was said or not said; what happened or didn’t happen, etc.
• Contract. In order for a lawyer to be found in breach of his duty, there needs to first be an understanding of what that duty is. A firm can’t be held liable for even implied responsibilities unless you have made arrangements with them for hire, and a contract has been drafted stating the scope of work they will be performing.