Legal Malpractice
What are the rights of a client who has entrusted a legal issue to a lawyer who has failed them?
California legal malpractice or attorney malpractice can be described as a lawyer's failure to render professional services with the skill, prudence, and diligence that an ordinary and reasonable lawyer would use under similar circumstances.
Beyond establishing the lawyer's negligence in rendering professional services, to prove California legal malpractice a plaintiff must also prove that the negligence was the legal cause of some actual damage to the plaintiff. Damages may not be based upon sheer speculation or surmise, and the mere possibility or even probability that damage will result from wrongful conduct does not render it actionable. It is not sufficient to allege that the underlying case should have settled for more, or might have resulted in a higher verdict at trial. It is not sufficient to allege that "if" the plaintiff had been given the right advice, he might have spent less money in a transaction, or might have received more in the transaction.
For legal malpractice in California litigation cases, the need to prove actual damages requires the plaintiff to prove what he would have recovered in the "underlying" legal action, and that he was denied that recovery by the negligent actions of the lawyer. The jury instruction which is read in California legal malpractice cases tells the jury that California law requires a plaintiff who establishes malpractice on the part of his or her attorney in prosecuting a lawsuit must also prove that careful management of it would have resulted in a favorable judgment and collection thereof. Because of this, the "new" attorney must litigate the "case within the case": that is, he must not only prove that the first attorney was negligent, but also that there would have been a recovery in the lawsuit the attorney was hired to prosecute. If the defendant had no insurance, or had no assets from which a judgment could be satisfied, there is no actual damage that can be recovered in the legal malpractice case.
Personal Injury Attorneys
Disclaimer: The Calilfornia legal information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer or attorney client relationship. Any results set forth here were dependent on the facts of that case and the results will differ from case to case. This web site is not intended to solicit clients for matters outside of the State of California. The lawyer responsible for this website is John Bisnar.
The Malpractice Attorneys at Bisnar|Chase are licensed to practice in California, Nevada, Washington and New York. We represent Malpractice Injury clients in other states through our associations with local law firms. Through the local firm, we will be admitted to practice law in their State, "pro hac vice", meaning "for this particular occasion". When in our client's best interest, we employ the local law firm (at no additional cost to our client) to assist us with routine court appearances and discovery proceedings to more efficiently pursue our client's cause.
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