What Does Legal Malpractice Mean In Louisiana?

An attorney whose carelessness causes you to lose your East Baton Rouge case can be held responsible for the damages you incur. You are permitted to file a malpractice claim under the advisement of an East Baton Rouge legal malpractice attorney. Legal mistakes that may be considered malpractice include:

• Secretarial mistakes: Reversing a numerical amount or mistyping a word in a legal document can be the difference between winning and losing your case.
• Inefficient record searches: Your lawyer should search public records in any case involving a title, patent, or trademark. If your attorney failed to correctly perform these searches, it is recommended that you retain a Louisiana legal malpractice attorney.
• Proceeding without consent: An attorney is retained to represent you in your legal proceedings. He or she is not allowed to act on your behalf without your consent. Making any legal decision for you or against your wishes is absolutely considered malpractice.
• Ignorance of the law: The most common cause of legal malpractice claims in the US is attorneys failing to know the law or how to apply it. Whether your lawyer failed to familiarize himself with your case enough to apply the law correctly or was not educated on the applicable laws, it invites a malpractice claim. A legal malpractice attorney in East Baton Rouge, LA can advise you on how to proceed with a malpractice action.
• Ineffective planning: Each individual case an attorney takes on requires customized planning and strategizing. Failure to invest time in developing a legal strategy, as a lawyer, is not acceptable.
• Failing to file documents: It is very common for attorneys to misplace or forget about documents that do not have strict deadlines. This can easily result in the expensive loss of your case.
• Failure to perform an adequate investigation: Your attorney is expected to use all means necessary to investigate the facts of your case and also to fully consider any available methods of discovery. Failing to do so is leaving oneself open to a legal malpractice claim.
• Failure to keep a proper calendar: Lawyers and their staff are expected to keep current a calendar of all court dates and deadlines for each and every case they accept. An attorney who misses a court date or deadline has committed legal malpractice, even if they were not aware that the date or deadline existed.
• Creating a conflict of interest: An attorney cannot represent two parties whose interests are in conflict with each other. If a lawyer fails to check his new client against his client files and pursues a case that is a conflict of interest, he or she can face a claim of malpractice.
• Ineffective withdrawal: An attorney who fails to withdrawal from a former case in a proper and timely manner in East Baton Rouge, Louisiana can be accused of legal malpractice. Your best bet is to contact a legal malpractice lawyer right away.
• Fraud: Lawyers who are involved with fraudulent activity of any kind can be on the hook for legal malpractice.