Assigning Legal Malpractice Claims
On March 18, the Georgia Supreme Court released its opinion in the Villanueva vs. First American Title Company case. The court held that legal malpractice cases involving underlying property and money damages are assignable. Affirming the lower Court of Appeals, the GA Supreme Court wrote that legal malpractice claims are “not per se unassignable.” The big question is whether this outcome will impact the number of legal malpractice claims in the future. I doubt it, and a number of experts agree.
On March 6, 2013, Douglas Chandler of Chandler Law LLC was invited to present to the Fulton County Business Court Judges and Staff Attorneys on the topic of Legal Malpractice. The goal of the interactive presentation was
Can I sue my lawyer?
Having represented many clients in legal malpractice and State Bar disciplinary matters, I can’t begin to count how many phone calls have started with that question. Non-lawyers (and even some lawyers), are surprised to learn that the answer is often more complicated than they think. In the first two parts of this series, we focused on some elements that you must satisfy in order to have a viable claim against your attorney.
As I mentioned in Part 1 of this series, you’ll need to fulfill at least three essential elements in order to have a valid legal malpractice claim:
- There was an attorney-client relationship, or at least a good faith basis for relying on the attorney.
- The attorney failed to exercise ordinary care, skill and diligence.
- Damages (loss of money, property, health, etc.) were caused by the attorney's failure and not some other factor. As discussed in Part 1, the underlying damages must have been collectible.
I hear it all the time; “My lawyer screwed up. I want to sue.”
As a Board Certified Georgia Legal Malpractice Attorney, I get these calls often. Unfortunately, Georgia law requires a little more evidence than a clear mistake by the attorney for you to actually succeed in a legal malpractice case. You’ll need to fulfill at least three essential elements in order to have a valid claim:
10 factors to consider before you sue your lawyer.
So you’ve hired a lawyer to help you solve a problem. Something goes wrong and you don’t receive the service or outcome you expect. The first question many of you will ask is, “Can I sue for legal malpractice?”
Learning some lessons from the recent Hunter Maclean v. St. Simons Waterfront appeal.
How do you protect your internal firm communications from discovery in a legal malpractice case? The recent Hunter Maclean opinion by the Georgia Court of Appeals provides at least a little direction after so many courts around the country have issued differing opinions. Part 1 of this article presented some background information along with suggested ways to avoid conflicts of interest.
Douglas Chandler of Chandler Law LLC, along with Aubrey Smith of ProAssurance, presented at the August 2012 Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) Group Mentioning session. The focus of the interactive presentation was Professional Liability and Bar Complaints: Preventing, Covering and Resolving Issues.
Learning some lessons from the recent Hunter Maclean v. St. Simons Waterfront appeal.
How do you protect your internal firm communications from discovery in a legal malpractice case? The answer begins when you first believe that your firm has received a threat of a possible claim. The recent Hunter Maclean opinion provides at least a little clarification after so many different court opinions across the country.
Managing your clients and firm is more than a full time job, and things seem to get more hectic every month as your business grows. While you’re busy running the firm, others are making decisions regarding processes, people and systems. Even what may be considered a trivial operational decision could lead to errors that cost time, money, client relationships, reputation and even your livelihood.
