Legal Malpractice

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Legal Malpractice Cases

When a lawyer fails to make available competent and professional services to a client, legal malpractice may be present. The lawyer''s inability to adequately represent the client can result in damages suffered, which may qualify for a legal malpractice case.

Lawyers have an ethical and legal obligation to their clients to exercise the highest duty the law imposes. Clients putting their trust and confidence in their lawyer should be entitled to their cases being handled in their best interests.

Some clients do not realize legal malpractice cases exist. While some people assume it would be difficult to recover damages from a lawyer who was supposed to be trying to recover them, lawyers are to represent claims against another lawyer if believing the client was wronged. As part of common law, a lawyer is obligated to provide services for those individuals that have been unjustly injured.

Contacting another lawyer to inquire if a possible legal malpractice claim is present can help the individual understand what legal rights and options that they have. In states excluding Oregon, lawyers are not required to carry legal malpractice insurance. At the start of December 2004, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer opened a probe of five insurers related to malpractice policies for class action lawyers. Spitzer''s office interviewed class action attorneys about difficulties they had getting malpractice insurance as part of his probe.

Fred Isquith, president of the National Association of Shareholder and Consumer Attorneys, as well as others, say insurers may be seeking retribution against class action lawyers, whom they attribute for driving up the cost of litigation claims. According to the chief economist for the industry sponsored Insurance Information Institute in New York, Robert Hartwig, he believes insurers are backing away from policies because risks have increased and that nothing is wrong with the practice.

Hartwig thinks, “Legal malpractice is becoming a big problem, just like medical malpractice.” According to statistics, the number of legal malpractice cases is increasing at a rate that is faster than the growth of the legal industry. Some possible reasons for the growth of legal malpractice has been attributed to increased consumerism, higher client expectations, more educated clients, the need for more specialized legal practices, the growth of litigation as a whole, as well as other reasons.

Legal malpractice cases can be difficult, but clients that feel they were inadequately and wrongly represented and are suffering losses as a result can talk to a lawyer to see if a strong case exists.

Medical Malpractice Breaking News

"NY Attorney General subpoenas five insurers for records on legal malpractice"

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has opened a probe on legal malpractice insurance. His latest inquiry is a new area of an investigation that began with accusations of bid rigging and kickbacks among insurers and brokers.

Spitzer''s i...

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