If you are reading this webpage, there is a good chance that your previous attorney did something that harmed you or your case. Now you are faced with the fear of not knowing who to hire as your next attorney and who you can trust to look out for your interests. We are in the business of alleviating those concerns for you. At Sears Crawford, our clients always come first, and WE SUE LAWYERS.
When you become the victim of attorney negligence, hiring another attorney is often the last thing you want to consider. It is likely that your original case, for which you are looking to sue your previous representation, still hangs in the air, and the prospect of bringing another attorney into the fold sounds like introducing another problem. The reality is that legal malpractice lawyers help their clients overcome these obstacles so that they can get what they deserve.
If you have wondered “can I sue my attorney for negligence?” the answer is yes, but you should do it with the right lawyer at your side. At Sears Crawford, we sue lawyers because we are committed to our clients, to holding lawyers accountable, and to upholding the integrity of our profession.
What is attorney negligence?
Attorney negligence is broadly defined as an attorney failing to do something that a reasonable and prudent attorney would have done under the same or similar circumstances OR doing something that a reasonable and prudent attorney would not have done under the same or similar circumstances.
Often this manifests itself in the form of missing important deadlines, failing to recognize statutes of limitations, and not communicating with the client. You should never be in the dark about the status of your case. If you call your attorney, your calls should be returned within a reasonable period of time. If you have questions about your case, your questions should be answered in a timely manner. If your attorney did something to harm you or your case, then you may have a right to sue them for attorney negligence.
How does one go about suing a lawyer for attorney negligence?
In order to sue a lawyer for attorney negligence, you will have to establish…
- That you had an attorney client relationship with your lawyer (this can be verbal or in writing)
- That your attorney was negligent. In other words, you were not provided reasonable care (defined here as the care that another competent attorney would have provided under the same circumstances)
- That the negligence caused you damages or harmed your case
At Sears Crawford, we know how difficult it can be to sue lawyers – they know how the system works, and they hire great lawyers to defend them. If you want to win you need an even better lawyer at your side. We sue lawyers! It’s what we do.
We take attorney negligence seriously because of our commitment to our clients and the integrity of our profession. Looking for a lawyer to sue a lawyer for negligence? Get in touch with Ross Sears at Sears Crawford, a legal firm where our clients always come first.
Negligence and other types of legal malpractice
Negligence is technically just one type of legal malpractice, but most legal malpractice cases involve some form of negligence from our client’s previous attorney. There are a myriad of behaviors, other than negligence, for which you have the ability to sue your previous attorney, that may constitute malpractice. Some of the more common ones include:
- Failure to know or apply the law applies when an attorney attempts to take on a case outside of their field of expertise.
- Fraud is a broad term that encompasses any sort of deception for unlawful gain.
- Misuse of financial resources/overbilling typically involves misappropriation of client funds or exorbitant hourly billing.
- Failure to obtain client consent refers to settling cases without client approval.
- Failure to calendar refers to bad planning and missed deadlines.
- Inadequate discovery refers to an attorney not discovering key information about a case during its earliest stages (i.e. witnesses, depositions).
Besides negligence and the many other forms of malpractice, it is possible that your attorney breached their fiduciary duty to you, the client. Fiduciary duty is the lawful imposition of your attorney’s duty to act with your best interests in mind at all times. There are a handful of ways in which your attorney may have breached their duty:
- Failure to maintain confidentiality
- Misrepresentation of facts or law, or failure to offer the full truth
- Breach of duty of fidelity and loyalty
- Self-dealing
- Any undisclosed conflict of interest
- Putting the interests of the attorney or a third party ahead of the client
If you believe that any of the above circumstances apply to your previous or pending case, then the attorney-client relationship may have been violated, and you need to hire professional legal malpractice attorneys in Texas, like those at Sears Crawford, that you can trust.
