When you hire a lawyer, you certainly expect them to have your best interests in mind. You want them to work for the best possible outcome on your behalf. They’re supposed to be serving your interests as you navigate the legal system, because they have the experience and knowledge to do so, and you do not.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen. You may wonder if a lawyer you hired to represent your interests actually had your best interest in mind or if something else was influencing their decisions. In some cases, these kinds of concerns could lead to accusations of legal malpractice if it becomes clear that they were not actually putting you first as a client.
Acting negligently
One way that this can happen is if your lawyer was negligent. They didn’t do anything intentionally to cause you harm, but they also did not give you the type of service you deserved. Maybe they missed deadlines or failed to file paperwork properly. You feel that their negligence harmed your case, even if it was an accident. They should have done a much better job than they actually did according to professional standards of conduct.
A conflict of interest
Another potential issue could be if the lawyer had a conflict of interest. Say that you hired someone because you wanted to sue a business after you were injured. You lost the case, and then you found out that the lawyer represented that business in many large cases in the past. They should not have taken your case because they view the company that you’re suing as a client, but they did so anyway.
You can lose a case sans malpractice
One important thing to remember about a situation like this is that simply losing a case doesn’t mean that malpractice happened. You can’t expect a lawyer to win every single case. This is similar to medical malpractice, where a poor patient outcome does not necessarily mean that a doctor was negligent. Many doctors and lawyers alike will work as hard as they can and give the patients or clients proper service, but they still don’t get the outcome that they wanted.
With that said, when you do have a negative outcome, it may signify that it’s time to look a little bit deeper into what happened. That’s when you may find out that malpractice occurred. As a result, seeking legal guidance if you have questions or concerns is generally a good idea.