Legal malpractice occurs when an attorney fails to perform his or her duties of reasonable care, resulting in harm to the client.
Common Types of Legal Malpractice
- Providing bad advice.
- Drafting transaction documents (contracts, wills, etc) incorrectly.
- Failing to file a claim on time, or missing court or administrative deadlines.
- Failing to introduce relevant evidence at a trial, or other trial failures
- Conflict of Interest: Representing opposing parties or failing to disclose relationships that could put clients in a position of disadvantage.
- The attorney acts in his or her own best interests while disregarding his or her client’s interests.
- Mishandling retainers or settlements.
- Making decisions without your informed approval
What is needed to prove legal malpractice?
For a plaintiff to establish a claim for legal malpractice, he or she must plead and prove the following:
- The existence of an attorney-client relationship or other facts establishing a duty.
- Negligence or a breach of the duty owed to the client.
- That the breach was the proximate cause of damages.
- Damages, a monetary loss resulting from the wrongful conduct of the attorney.
A case within a case:
In a legal malpractice claim involving a mistake in a legal dispute, proving your attorney was negligent isn’t enough. You must also demonstrate that you would have won the original case—or obtained a better result—if not for the lawyer’s error. This is known as proving the “case within a case.”
Legal malpractice claims are unique because they may require the plaintiff (you, the former client) to essentially retry the original lawsuit as part of proving that the attorney’s misconduct caused harm. The court must be convinced not only that your lawyer made a mistake, but also that you had a valid underlying claim or defense, you were likely to succeed in that matter and you suffered measurable damages because of your lawyer’s failure.
Clients are entitled to adequate representation. If you’re unsure whether your situation qualifies, or if you think you may be a victim of legal malpractice, contact Michael Haeberle at mhaeberle@pattersonlawfirm.com.
Frequently Asked Questions About Legal Malpractice
In Illinois, the statute of limitations for filing a legal malpractice claim is generally two years from the date you knew or reasonably should have known about the injury. However, there is also a six-year statute of repose, meaning no action can be brought more than six years after the date of the negligent act. It's critical to consult an attorney immediately, as these deadlines are strict.
No, losing a case is not, by itself, grounds for a malpractice claim. To win a legal malpractice lawsuit, you must prove that your attorney was negligent and that their specific error—not just the difficulty of the case—was the direct cause of the negative outcome.
