Why Tennessee Legal Malpractice Cases Are Difficult to Prove

By Thomas Greer | January 26, 2015

There are many reasons to hire an attorney to represent you, and when you do, you expect the best legal advice you can get. But what if your attorney makes mistakes? When this happens, you may have a Memphis legal malpractice lawsuit. Be warned, these cases are very difficult to prove.

If you are the victim of legal malpractice, you may feel as if you cannot trust anyone and this is understandable, but trust you must if you are to regain your losses. To prove a legal malpractice claim, you will need the expert advice of a legal malpractice lawyer in Memphis.

You can suffer legal malpractice for many reasons. For example, maybe you hired a lawyer to represent you in Tennessee car accident litigation, which involved a drunk driver who ran a red light and hit you broadside. Seems like an open and shut case, but if your attorney fails to handle your case properly and it is thrown out of court, the chances that legal malpractice has occurred are good. But how do you go about proving it?

Why are legal malpractice cases so difficult to prove?

  • First, the law itself is complicated. To show that a lawyer did not use the commonly expected skill and care in handling your case, your new representative must have a thorough knowledge of the laws governing the behavior of the attorney who botched your previous litigation. These laws can be complex and only a very skilled legal expert can use them to win for you.
  • Four things must be proved and they are not easy. You must prove that the offending attorney: owed you a duty to act properly on your behalf, breached this duty through negligence, a mistake or lack of skill, caused you financial harm through his or her actions, and that you suffered financial losses because of the offending behavior.
  • To prove your lawyer messed up and you would have won your case if he or she had not done so, you must act quickly. Many times people wait too long and lose their legal malpractice cases when the defense attorney argues that your case is invalid because you didn’t act sooner. And this argument is often successful.
  • Collecting damages may be difficult. If the offending lawyer does not carry malpractice insurance or have some financial assets, getting your damages paid becomes a problem.

No matter how difficult your claim may be to prove, you should never ignore bad behavior within the legal profession. If you or a loved one feels that you have been victimized by legal malpractice, you should contact a Memphis legal malpractice lawyer if you have questions.

Bailey & Greer in Memphis has successfully represented many victims of Tennessee legal malpractice. Call us today toll-free at 901-680-9777 to get your questions answered. We are small enough to care and experienced enough to win.

Posted in Legal Malpractice, Library