Texas Legal Malpractice Attorney in Houston

People often ask Ross Sears II why he became a legal malpractice Attorney in Houston. Many people assume that he must not have many friends among his colleagues given his willingness to sue his peers. Here’s his answer:

I didn’t become a legal malpractice Attorney to make friends; I became a Legal Malpractice Attorney to help people.  My duty is to my clients, not my colleagues.

Not all lawyers are bad. Unfortunately, there are lawyers that do criminal, shady, crooked things in order to line their own pockets. Whether your lawyer made a simple mistake or acted intentionally is irrelevant, the only thing that matters is that you get justice for the damage done. At Sears Crawford, we have no problem suing lawyers on behalf of our clients in order to get them the justice they deserve and to right the wrong that was committed against them.

As lawyers that sue lawyers for malpractice we gather the necessary evidence, research the applicable rules and laws, and present the evidence and documentation in a clear and concise way to help our clients get the money they deserve.

Over the decades that we have been practicing law in this great state, we have helped hundreds of clients in cases involving everything from missed deadlines, overbilling and unconscionable fees, failure to disclose conflicts of interest, general negligence, insufficient settlements, and more.

Or, to put it another way, what does a Texas legal malpractice lawyer do? When we say that we sue lawyers, we mean that we help you bring legal claims against your previous lawyers who likely screwed up your case.

How long do you have to sue an attorney for malpractice in Texas? The statute of limitations for legal malpractice in Texas is usually two years from the date of discovery of the malpractice. If you think your attorney has committed malpractice, contact a lawyer who sues lawyers as soon as possible.

As mentioned previously, in order to sue your lawyer, you must first be able to prove that your lawyer is guilty of one of several types of malpractice, including but not limited to negligence, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, or failed to comply with the applicable rules/laws during their representation of their clients.

In order to prove that a lawyer has been negligent, breached a contract, or violated the rules of professional conduct, we, as your legal malpractice attorney in Houston, must prove the following on your behalf:

1. They owed you a duty

Lawyers, by definition, owe a fiduciary duty to you if you are their client. This duty is often called the “duty of care.” Duty is usually easy to prove because there is typically a contract between the parties or a course of action by the lawyer on the client’s behalf. The contract between the attorney and client can be oral or written, depending on the circumstances.

2. That duty was breached

The lawyer acted or failed to act in a way that a reasonable and prudent attorney under the same circumstances would not have acted — and their actions resulted in harm to the client.

3. When the duty was breached, harm resulted

In legal malpractice cases, the harm is typically proven by showing that the outcome of the client’s case would have been better for the client if the attorney had done what he or she was required to do under the standard of care for attorneys in the same or similar situation. Here’s a simple example:

• If you were involved in an auto accident and suffered injuries as a result of the fault of another driver, you are entitled to recover reasonable compensation for your injuries. If you hire an attorney and that attorney fails to file suit within the time limits set by law, then you may lose your ability to recover the monetary damages you deserve, because your attorney failed to timely file suit.

In this situation, you could have a good legal malpractice case against the attorney who missed the deadline. This is just one of the many examples of lawsuits we have handled on behalf of our clients over the past 30 years.

What is legal malpractice in Texas? What are some examples? There are many ways that an attorney can behave unethically, and therefore there are a wide variety of types of legal malpractice cases. The following are the most common types of cases a Texas legal malpractice attorney sees on a typical basis.

Breach of contract

When you enter into an attorney-client relationship with your lawyer, you typically enter into a contract, verbal or written. When the lawyer fails to comply with the terms of that contract, a breach of contract occurs and you may be entitled to damages.

Breach of fiduciary duty 

Attorneys owe their clients what is called a “fiduciary duty.” This duty is the highest duty imposed by law and means that your attorney must put your interest ahead of their own. Breach of fiduciary duty usually requires us to prove that the lawyer acted in a way that benefitted the attorney to the detriment of the client. It usually requires evidence of conduct by the attorney that goes beyond negligence or mere mistake.

Conflict of interest

If your lawyer represents another party’s interest that is opposite of your (the client’s) interest, this can create a conflict that must be disclosed to the client and may result in the removal of the attorney from the case.

Additionally, if a lawyer enters into a business transaction with a client, it can result in a huge conflict of interest for the attorney. Conflicts of interest are frequent problems for attorneys and are a common source of clients for us at Sears Crawford.

Negligence 

Most of the cases we handle involve negligence by the attorney in handling the client’s case. Attorney negligence is generally defined as doing something that a reasonable and prudent attorney would not have done under the same or similar circumstances or failing to do something that a reasonable and prudent attorney would have done under the same or similar circumstances.

A common example of why someone would sue an attorney for negligence would be an attorney failing to file suit within the applicable statute of limitations. Missing an important deadline in a legal case can make the difference between getting money for your injuries and losing the opportunity to seek any damages for your losses.

Fraud 

Attorney fraud occurs whenever an attorney engages in any form of deception for personal financial gain. The umbrella of attorney fraud is wide-ranging but often includes the concealing of important case information in order to influence their client’s or the court’s decision-making.

If you believe your attorney has committed malpractice and should be sued for their actions or inactions, contact Ross A. Sears II, a legal malpractice attorney in Houston from Sears Crawford today.

Ross Sears II has served as a Texas legal malpractice lawyer for over 30 years. Let him help you fix the problems that were caused by your previous lawyer(s).

In helping you, not only do we get to right the wrongs created by your previous lawyer, but by holding lawyers accountable for their actions, we also get to do our part in restoring the integrity of the legal profession.

If your lawyer has done anything to harm you or your case, we are here to help. Give our Texas legal malpractice lawyers a call at 713-223-3333 or contact us online to set up your free consultation today.