The Winston Law Firm Holds Negligent South Florida Attorneys Accountable

When most people need legal assistance, they turn to a lawyer with the expectation that this professional has the knowledge, experience, resources, and work ethic to assist them. They trust their attorney with personal information, money, and the outcome of their case or legal assignment, which can often have a life-changing impact. Unfortunately, that trust is sometimes misplaced, and a negligent lawyer does more harm than good.

Thankfully, there is something that you can do. Lawyers have a duty of care to their clients; when they breach that duty, they are liable for legal malpractice. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to go up against a lawyer and prove that he or she is liable in a legal malpractice case—unless you have a skilled legal malpractice attorney.

All the partners at The Winston Law Firm have ample experience as legal malpractice lawyers. They are unafraid to take another attorney to task for failing their professional duties. You might be hesitant to hire another lawyer after your first bad experience. Still, you can rest easy knowing that our attorneys strive for excellence and have received numerous professional honors for their success in recovering client compensation.

Common Types of Legal Malpractice

Your lawyer is responsible for carrying out many essential steps and making crucial decisions in your legal assignment, so it is not surprising that a wide range of potential mistakes can lead to legal malpractice. Some of the most common types of legal malpractice include:

  • Failure to know/apply the law: The attorney is unaware of legal information that another lawyer in their position could reasonably be expected to know or fails to make a reasonable inference about the application of the law (e.g., an estate planning attorney knowing you had kids but failing to talk to you about including them in your will).
  • Planning or strategy errors: The lawyer knows the necessary legal information but makes a serious error in judgment that leads to financial loss for a client.
  • Failure to file documents, know deadlines, or add deadlines to the calendar: These types of errors occur when a lawyer fails to file essential documents on time or at all, neglects a vital deadline (such as one imposed by a statute of limitations) or fails to note a deadline, costing a client their case.
  • Failure to follow client instructions or obtain client consent: For example, if your lawyer settled a case without your consent and you believe the settlement is lower than you could have obtained, your lawyer may be liable for legal malpractice.

Why Does Legal Malpractice Occur?

There are many different reasons why legal malpractice may occur. In some cases, a lawyer might not have the legal knowledge that a person in their position should have; for example, they might have failed to keep up with changing laws in the state of Florida and, therefore, improperly applied the law in your case, causing you to lose out on compensation or another positive outcome. In a few cases, an unscrupulous lawyer might believe they can get away with abusing their power (for instance, he or she might use your retainer for something other than your case).

One common reason for legal malpractice is lawyers taking on too large a caseload. Some attorneys are more concerned with getting as many clients as possible than with the actual outcome of their cases. When they take on too many clients, they may begin making significant mistakes, such as failing to file paperwork on time or not mentioning an essential deadline on their calendar.

You don’t have to worry about this when you turn to The Winston Law Firm. Because our legal team has handled legal malpractice cases before, we understand clients’ concerns and dedicate personal attention to every case so that nothing slips through the cracks.

Proving Legal Malpractice with the Help of The Winston Law Firm

You can’t necessarily prove that your lawyer was liable just because they made a mistake or you were unhappy with the outcome of your case. Instead, you have to show that the attorney failed to exercise the skill and care that another lawyer in their position could be expected to exercise. You need to show that in addition to breaching their duty to you, the attorney’s breach caused you to suffer financial damages.

Gathering evidence against your attorney might seem daunting, so you should contact a legal malpractice lawyer as soon as possible. Your attorney at The Winston Law Firm will review your case with you and look for specific instances when your first attorney failed to live up to their duty of care.

As experienced civil and trial attorneys, our lawyers can determine what your first attorney could reasonably have been expected to know and do for you, allowing you to make a strong case for legal malpractice.

Did Your Lawyer Fail in Their Duty to You? Call The Winston Law Firm Today

If your first experience working with an attorney was not just bad but led to a significant financial loss, you could hardly be blamed for feeling wary about working with another lawyer. However, you should not just stay quiet and let a negligent attorney get away with failing in their duty to you. Not only could you be missing out on compensation, but you are letting the lawyer off the hook so that they can potentially cause financial harm to future clients.

If you believe you are a legal malpractice victim, contact The Winston Law Firm immediately. The first step is to set up a free initial consultation so that you can learn more about our attorneys’ experience and decide if our firm is right for your case.

Give us a call today at:

Toll-Free: 866-306-9606
South Florida: 954-606-6606