New Jersey Legal Malpractice Legal Questions

It sounds like you have a legal malpractice case worth investigating. It is hard to understand why an attorney would fail to prosecute a personal injury case when the client suffered a disabling injury. That is a case that could be worth a substantial amount of money. At some point did the attorney determine that there was no insurance coverage? Even when you cannot locate a defendant for service of process, you can make a motion for substituted service so that the case can move forward and you can obtain a judgment.  The first thing an attorney will due is try to get the case reinstated. If he cannot because the case was dismissed with prejudice, then the next step is a legal malpractice case against the firm who let the case get dismissed.  Click here and here for more information about me. Please note that by attempting to answer your question, I am not acting as your attorney. I will do nothing further to protect or preserve your interests in the absence of any additional discussion with you about this matter. John Ratkowitz, Esq. Starr, Gern, Davison & Rubin, P.C. 105 Eisenhower Parkway Roseland, NJ 07068 Office: (973) 830-8441 Cell: (732) 616-6278 Fax: (973) 226-0031 Email: jratkowitz@starrgern.com  Skype: john_ratkowitz.   ... Read Answer

In order to prevail in a legal malpractice claim, you must prove the "case within the case." In other words, you have to prove that if the attorney who represented you racticed law within accepted standards of care the outcome would have been different and you would have prevailed. I would be interested in knowing more about the facts of the underlying case. If you are prosecuting a personal injury case, it is hard to understand how your case could go to trial with no expert testimony. That is a prerequisite to proving damages. Click here and here for more information about me. Please note that by attempting to answer your question, I am not acting as your attorney. I will do nothing further to protect or preserve your interests in the absence of any additional discussion with you about this matter. John Ratkowitz, Esq. Starr, Gern, Davison & Rubin, P.C. 105 Eisenhower Parkway Roseland, NJ 07068 Office: (973) 830-8441 Cell: (732) 616-6278 Fax: (973) 226-0031 Email: jratkowitz@starrgern.com  Skype: john_ratkowitz. ... Read Answer

I need to understand what part of the assets you had a life estate in--usually it is for a house.  If the house was already gone when your mother died,  then I would understand the lawyer's actions.  If the life estate was for all assets of the estate or something that didn't need to be sold (such as a house on which you were able to keep the mortgage current),  then I would be interested in learning more about the situation in order to answer this question.  The other question I have is whether you had your own lawyer during probate or whether you relied on the lawyer for the estate? ... Read Answer

Sorry to learn what happened.    You have an absolute right to demand a copy of your entire file from her old firm and proof of what the $6,000 was spend on.    Call your county bar association and get the name of a divorce attorney who will help you with this.   The fee for this consultation should be minimal.   Good luck.   There is a fee dispute committee in Trenton and there are ethics complaints you may also want to consider.... Read Answer