Attorney fraud is a type of legal malpractice that can involve your lawyer using your case, your business, or your trust for personal gain. If they misrepresented facts, hid conflicts of interest, or persuaded you to do something that turned out not to be true, you may be owed compensation.
You’ll need expert attorneys if you want to prove that your previous attorney committed any type of fraud. We understand that being the victim of attorney fraud can make hiring another lawyer the last thing you want to do, but the lawyers for attorney fraud at Sears Crawford are lawyers that you can trust. We sue lawyers because we are committed to our clients and to upholding the integrity of our profession.
Attorney fraud is an umbrella term that covers many kinds of deception or obfuscation for unlawful gain. An attorney commits fraud when they deceive a client in a way that leads to personal financial gain or harm to the client. This can come in many forms including but not limited to lies, deceit, persuasion, concealment, or misrepresentation.
The ways in which your attorney can commit legal malpractice, including fraud, are not limited to these. If you believe that your attorney did not have your best interests in mind and acted in bad faith you need to hire a top legal malpractice attorney in Houston, you need Sears Crawford.
What is legal malpractice in Texas? There are a lot of ways in which a lawyer can commit legal malpractice, many of them hard to understand and even harder to prove without the right malpractice lawyer. These are some offenses that we see committed by attorneys regularly:
Negligence
Negligence, or attorney negligence is another broad term that encompasses many types of errors related to an attorney not doing something that a reasonable (or competent) attorney would.
Breach of fiduciary duty
Breach of fiduciary duty involves a breach of the duty that is owed by the attorney to their client in a manner that puts the attorney’s interests ahead of their client’s, which can include self-dealing and fraud.
Failure to know or apply the law
Failure to know or apply the law occurs when an attorney attempts to take on a case outside of their field of expertise.
Failure to calendar
Failure to calendar occurs when the attorney misses deadlines that harm the client’s case.
Overbilling or unconscionable fees
Overbilling/unconscionable fees apply most often to excessive hourly billing or excessive or unreasonable contingency fees.
Failure to obtain client consent
Failure to obtain client consent usually applies to settling cases or making any important decisions without client consent.
There is no shortage of reasons to file a lawsuit against an attorney. When they take on your case, you put your life in their hands. If your previous attorney violated your trust, whether for personal gain or due to their negligence, you need a legal malpractice attorney in Texas that you can trust to make things right.
Don’t delay. The attorney fraud statute of limitations is usually four years from the date of discovery of said fraud. If you want to sue a lawyer, you have to act fast.
If you believe that your previous attorney has committed attorney fraud, call the fraud lawyers at Sears Crawford today to make things right.
Ross Sears II is a Board Certified Lawyer in Personal Injury Law, the area of expertise that includes legal malpractice, by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He has been practicing law for more than 30 years in the pursuit of righting wrongs done by bad attorneys.
If you need to sue a lawyer you need to call Sears Crawford! We’re available by phone at (713) 223-3333 or online for a free consultation.