Legal malpractice can lead to major issues for those who unintentionally trust the wrong lawyers. An attorney’s failings can directly impact the outcome of someone’s divorce, criminal case or civil lawsuit. Sometimes, lawyers make mistakes that have immediate, negative consequences for their clients.
Their clients may then potentially have grounds to take legal action over their professional failures. Legal malpractice does come in many forms. Sometimes, it involves manipulative and inaccurate billing practices. Other times, legal malpractice could entail taking on a case when a lawyer knows they have a significant conflict of interest.
Gross failures on the part of an attorney can also constitute legal malpractice. Yet, not all kinds of legal malpractice are easy to identify. Simply not showing up for a crucial meeting or a scheduled hearing could potentially be legal malpractice.
A no-show lawyer puts a client in a bad position
The average individual who retains a lawyer does so because they understand their own limitations when navigating the legal system. They know that they don’t truly understand the law or court precedent and that they may not have the calmness necessary to advocate on their own behalf in a meeting or at trial.
In some cases, people rely on their lawyers to be physically present in the courtroom when they cannot attend hearings. Out-of-state defendants are among those who may not show up to certain court dates because they trust their lawyers to be present on their behalf. A failure to show could lead to someone losing their bail and a host of other challenges.
Particularly when attorneys do not address scheduling conflicts ahead of time, their failure to appear in court could have major implications for their clients. In some cases, a lawyer’s no-show activity might put someone at risk of becoming unable to take action due to the statute of limitations that may apply in their case.
Legal malpractice claims can result in financial compensation for those coping with the real-world consequences triggered by a lawyer’s professional failures. Malpractice lawsuits can also serve as a form of reprimand for the lawyer involved and a warning to others looking into who should represent them for a legal matter.
Taking action against an attorney whose negligence or incompetence has adversely affected someone’s legal matter could benefit the disappointed client and others who might hire that lawyer in the future.