Law firms and attorneys who engage in misconduct can be held responsible for their misdeeds. When a client suffers harm as a result of the misconduct of the client’s attorney, the client may seek compensation through the judicial system if the client has been subjected to legal malpractice and can prove damages, wrongs and causation. These types of cases can include claims of negligence, theft, conversion, and, among others, misrepresentation.
What is legal malpractice? The term refers to any claim brought by a client, including a company, person or organization, against an attorney or law firm, regardless of whether the claim asserts negligence, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, deceptive trade practices, inadequate legal representation or any other allegation. An issue that may arise in Texas legal malpractice cases is whether the attorney exercised that degree of care, skill and diligence as attorneys of ordinary skill and knowledge commonly possess and exercise. Legal malpractice may occur in any area of the law, but a 2007 American Bar Association Study on Lawyer’s Professional Liability identified family law, real estate law, trust and estate law, bankruptcy or collections law and plaintiff’s personal injury law as five practice areas in which malpractice claims are most frequent.
