Legal Malpractice Lawyers

Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island, Queens, Manhattan, New York City, NY

Elements of Legal Malpractice

Attorneys can be sued for legal malpractice when they act in a way that is negligent, unreasonable or illegal while providing legal services. Typically, this occurs because of serious mistakes made by the lawyer and his/her legal team while representing a client.

Being a victim of legal malpractice can leave you financially and emotionally drained. If you need to speak with someone about your situation to see if you have a case, please contact our legal malpractice lawyers, located in the Bronx, New York and other nearby areas.

In the state of New York, legal malpractice is defined as a deviation from "good and accepted legal practice, where the client has been proximately damaged by that deviation, but for which, there would have been a different, better or more positive outcome."

In general, a legal malpractice lawsuit must prove these four elements:

1. That there is an official attorney/client relationship - An extension to the normal contract between a client and lawyer that might still qualify under this element is when a non-client (for instance, a beneficiary to a will) can prove that a lawyer did not properly execute a client's will.)
2. That the lawyer had a duty to represent and advise the client - When an attorney represents a client, he/she must act in the client's best interest, disclose any potential conflicts of interest and adhere to strict client confidentiality policies.
3. That there was a breach of that duty - This occurs when a lawyer does not provide adequate and competent representation, or fails in any way to act in the client's best interest. This can be the most difficult legal malpractice element to prove.
4. That the client has suffered quantifiable damages as a result of a lawyer's breach of duty - The client has the burden of proving that significant damages were incurred and that the damages are measurable, especially in terms of financial loss.

Have you suffered damages as a result of poor conduct or inadequate legal representation? Did your lawyer miss a filing deadline or fail to act when necessary on your behalf? If you believe that you may have a legal malpractice case, please contact our legal malpractice attorneys at the law offices of Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C. We proudly serve the areas of Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, Long Island, and New York City, NY.

Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C.
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