Like all professionals, attorneys are held to extremely high ethical standards. They have a responsibility to do right by their clients and put their interests first. If an attorney breaches this duty, they can be held liable for damages. If you hired an attorney and they failed in representing your best interests, you may have a case for legal malpractice.
Some people may be mad after a trial and may want to sue their attorney. For instance, if a criminal case does not go their way and they wind up getting sentenced to jail or a personal injury trial resulted in no recovery, their first instinct may be to sue the attorney. That is not necessarily legal malpractice. If the attorney represented you to their best of their ability and the trier of fact (the jury) ruled against you, this is not in and of itself grounds for legal malpractice.
If, however, you were found guilty because the attorney missed an important hearing or your personal injury lawsuit was barred because the statute of limitation ran out, you may have a case for legal malpractice. An attorney must be certain not to make any preventable mistakes that could damage his or her client’s case.
An attorney must also be sure not to misallocate funds for their client. If you think that money you are paying for legal fees is actually going to something else or if your attorney took your settlement money and is suddenly not returning your calls, that is legal malpractice. An attorney has a fiduciary duty to never misallocate or steal a client’s money.
Legal malpractice can stem from any number of issues. It could just be that a lawyer has taken on far too many cases and cannot handle their workload. Suddenly deadlines are missed or hearings are skipped just because the attorney is overworked. It could also be from issues like drug or alcohol problems. Substance abuse is a serious problem among attorneys and if these personal problems bleed over into their professional lives, it could lead to a malpractice claim. Or, unfortunately, it may just stem from old-fashioned greed. While attorneys are held to high ethical standards, there are some people who are simply dishonest and lie to their clients or cheat them out of money.
Almost all attorneys carry malpractice insurance to defend against claims such as these. This insurance will cover any damages that you have suffered due to your attorney’s negligence and seek to make you whole due to problems with your lawyer. An experienced legal malpractice attorney can discuss your case with you and identify any negligence that may have occurred. If we spot some, we will aggressively fight to get you every penny you deserve.
At valterhalter Law Firm, we fight these cases aggressively because these attorneys give all of us in this profession a bad name. Most lawyers are hard-working, honest people who observe high standards of ethics and treat their clients well. It is these bad apples, however, who stand out in the public’s mind and contribute to the distrust of lawyers. This is one of the reasons we offer certain free legal services, because we want people to know that we are honest and trustworthy individuals.
If you have suffered a loss because of legal malpractice, contact a legal malpractice lawyer at valterhalter Law Firm today for a free consultation. We will let you know if you have a case and fight to get you the money you deserve.
Bill Haseker | Herrin Illinois
ReplyDeletevalterhalter is an attorney that takes his time dealing with each client personally. He makes each client feel as though they are part of his extended family and discusses your case in a clear manner that is easy to understand.
John is an Alpha Wolf in the court room when representing his clients and gets you every cent you are entitled to!!! It has been my experience with John that he is a very good man to have on your team! The office staff is very polite and professional as well.
I would highly recommend his valterhalter law firm for all your needs!