Legal Malpractice Legal Questions

The problem here is OUR attorney. The lawyer was your MOTHERS lawyer. If there was a "ladybird" deed or something of the sort it may be difficult to hold the lawyer responsible if the deed is taken by the client and notarized and signed elswhere and returned for filing. BEFORE you accuse the lawyer of malpractice, you would need to have retained another estate lawyer as an expert that says such an issue equates to malpractice.  ... Read More

       If the lawyer handling your employment discriminiation case has blown any time deadlines on your case, she can blame you all she wants, but it is her responsibility. If you have been harmed in any way by her conduct or now your claim is barred, you have  a legitimate legal malpractice case against her. If the deadlines are not either prejudicial to your case and/or do not block your right to proceed, I would look for another employment discrimination lawyer to take over the handlng of your case. Your new lawyer can make arrangements to obtain your file from the lawyer you are firing. You can also file a grievance with the Office of Lawyer Regulation in Madison, WI.  There is an SCR rule dealing with "Competence" of the lawyer, and failing to file legal papers on time, under time deadlines is both  arguably malpractice as well as an ethical violation.... Read More

You may have a legal malpractice case. The issue is damages.  if all thatneeds to be done is to have a proepr lease document drafted, then the potential malpractice claim is likely not worth the time and expense. However, you indicate that your request was denied "for the last time."  If you have suffered an irreparable permanent harm that can be financially quantified, then you may have a claim worth chasing. You should seek an attroney who handles legal malpractice and who also has a working knowledge of the type of lease arrangement that you had sought.... Read More

No, the Judge cannot be held liable.  All Judges have qualified legal immunity that prevents liability claims for decisions made from the bench.  You would have to prove that the Judge excluded you intentionally for some criminal reason.  At that point, you would need to involve either the Prosecuting Attorney for your county or the Ohio Attorney General. My guess is that if you report the stalking to the police, then you may get some assistance.... Read More

Your not entitled to your file from the firm in general. You're entitled to your original records you provided, as long as there is no fee lien, and the law firm is only obligated not to withhold original records or tangible evidence if it would cause you irreparable harm. If there is a fee lien, called a charging lien, you will have to make arranagement to pay or protect thelegal fees owed and usually pay for copies of the file. ... Read More

Lawyers are under a duty to report obvious ethical violations by other lawyers; that is the legal side of things; from a practical perspective, lawyers rarely  report other lawyers for misconduct, except in the most egregious circumstances of ethical violations; your question about coercion is difficult to answer without knowing more of the facts from you.... Read More

There is something missing here unless you expect anyone to believe that the lawyer was going through all of that effort for free, which would be astounding. Seems like the lawyer claims he is owed a fee and is asserting a lien on the funds recovered. You need to sit down and sort this out before it blows up and gets out of hand. ... Read More

Contact the Office of Disciplinary Counsel with the Supreme Court of Ohio.  Report the non-licensed individual for the unauthorized practice of alw and report the employing attorney for allowing the unauthorized practice and for shaing fees with a non-attorney, fraud, and misrepresentation. Call the local police and file criminal charges against both for theft and conspiracy.... Read More

These are difficult cases. In order to be awarded damages for an attorney's negligence you would have to prove that there would have been a different outcome had she gone to trial. From my understanding, according to court documents, your daughter was driving on two flat tires when she was pulled over and her blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit. Even thought she pled guilty she failed to disclose this incident to the pagent people. Under these circumstances it would be extremely difficult to say the attorney caused her damages.... Read More

It all depends on what you mean a complaint. If you mean a complaint with the Utah State Bar for ethical violations, it is my understanding that you can. If you mean sue the attorney for acts that have caused you problems, or loss of property or rights, probably not, as that person is not your attorney and owes you no loyalty. However, it the divorce is pending in some way, you may be able to seek attorney fees against the person for inappropriate filings, and the like; or perhaps obtain a restraining order or injunction, depending on the facts of the case. You really should review your case, and the facts, with an experienced family law attorney who also knows about legal malpractice. I have handle both types of cases.... Read More

The problem with mortgage foreclosure malpractice claims is they typcially revolve around unrealistic expecations of the homeowner coupled with no real ability to fund the legal work for all of the multitude of issues they want to raise. Adding the conspiracy theory of the court making a conveniently omiited smoking gun confession on the record simply adds fuel to the desperation fire common to these cases. That stated, if you are serious about pursuing a legal mal claim here, you will need to get all of the records together, and likelt spend several thousand dollars on a lawyer to review them and provide an opinion as to what is anything was done improperly by the lawyer and go from there.... Read More

Many lawyers, unfortunately, will not take a legal malpractice case. Many of us, however, will take such a case so long as we do not have a personal or professional relationship with the lawyer against whom you have the claim. You should be aware, however, that these types of cases are expensive to prosecute so many otherwise good malpractice cases do not end up being pursued just because they are not economically viable. You just need to find a lawyer who will handle the case.... Read More

The easy answer is "yes." However, once you sue the lawyer, the lawyer will have good cause to withdraw from your husband's case.  Your husband will likely need to get a new attorney and the 3-9-2016 trial date will likely go away.  Depending on the court's schedule, a new trial might not be scheduled for 60 days or longer. Also, depending on the judge, the lawyer's motion to withdraw could be denied. I am not saying that you should not raise these issues with the lawyer and demand answers.  Your husband is entitled to competent defense. I recommend demanding a meeting with the lawyer and your husband and ask for documentary proof rom the lawyer as to what has been and not been happening.  Once you have answers, then you can decide how to proceed.... Read More

At the outset, you should immediately file for Social Security disability -- www.ssa.gov to apply online which is the fastest way to go. As for the malpractice claim, in Ohio you will need to have your records reviewed by an independent neurosurgeon who is willing to execute an affidavit essentially stating that the records have been reviewed, your doctor breached the standard of care by doing or not doing the right thing, and that the reviewing doctor will so testify in court. This prerequite evaluation generally costs anywhere from $3-4,000 to get the records and pay the reviewing doctor.  Note that everyon wants their $$$ upfront.  The reviewing doctor could take your money and then opine that there was no malpractice. If you get a good affidavit, plan on haviong to file a lawsuit and get pretty darn close to trial.  Expect to incur an additional $10-15,000 in upfront expenses (doctor fees to appear live to testify, deposition charges, etc.).  Most insurance companies will not settle until trial is imminent. Note that none of the expenses are reimbursable as aprt of damages. Note too that there is a 1 year statute of limitations for medical malpractice in Ohio from the later of the date the malpractice occurred or the date you last treated with the offending doctor.... Read More

Legal malpractice claims in Ohio have a one (1) year statute of limitation begining the later of the date of the malpractice, the date you learned of the malpractice, or the date the attorney/client relationship ended. Whether the statute of limitation has run is a question of fact depending on all of the circumstances. You can assert malpractice as s defense.... Read More

and THIS is why attorney's charge so much money, unreasonable clients who turn on them at the drop of a hat and think they know better what to do in court. First and foremost, simply making an objection does jack squat in such a hearing, as the court would have to sustain the objection. Second, simply accusing the other person of lying "because you know the truth" is equally useless as you would have to have conclusive EVIDENCE to show that she was lying, which is very very very difficult to to anticipate and prepare for, unless of course you have an unlimited budget, which few have absent last names of Trump, DeBartalo, Gates or Steinbrenner. Apparrently, you did NOT have enough evidence to prove jurisidiction, because as you said, the judge threw out your case. Ignoring this, again because you know better and everyone else screwed up, is as unproductive for the same reasons previously stated. Your remedy here is simply seeking appeal or possibly refiling in proper fashion. Finally, the lawyers willing to help you "pro-bono" may be far from a confession that the lawyer "blew it" but equally possible that the lawyer feels the court was wrong and has some interest in helping you sort it out, so be wary of being ungrateful if this is this case. Finally, if you feel you have EVIDENCE of perjury, then you are always free to go to the appropriate law enforcement agency, present your evidence and see if they agree and prosecute. if they DONT agree and prosecute, well.....then there you have another indication as to why the lawyer's position may have been the proper one.... Read More