Legal Question in Legal Malpractice in Illinois
Legal Malpractice
I hired an Attorney to represent me reqarding a claim we had
regarding a forged signature on a deed
deed. The Attorney in question has made several mistakes
He failed to submit a witness list in time and so
we had throw out the case and start all over.
Secondly one of our witnesses would have been evidence
that the person in question had a history of Forgery
however . The Attorney who represented me in that was aware
of this and repeatedly assured me that this person and evidence was going to be called. I believe that this person was never reached by
Also the Attorney vastly overstated to me the damages that he was seeking . This made it difficult to make
evaluate the settlement offer
I have since found out that the Attorney was reprimanded by the bar association
Finally he failed to submit proper documentation to support our claims .
So my questions are these
What damages can I sue for.
Since the Attorney repeatedly lied to me there is an element of fraud in this because of his fraud can we seek
punitive damages.
Since he has been reprimanded by the bar association in the past can that be used against him . And if I do file a
complaint against will it end up in him losing his license.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Legal Malpractice
I am not clear as to the case status.
If you have settlement offer you are considering, there is no malpractice yet, because the case is still pending. If you are, because of attorney negligence, forced to settle for a figure far less than the value of the case, then you might have a claim. This might include a claim for damages fr gross negligence and entitle you to punitiv damages. But I do not know any facts of your case, and cannot for nowm, give you full advice.
Re: Legal Malpractice
In order to win a legal malpractice claim, you must prove not only that the attorney's conduct fell below a reasonable standard of care, but also that this neglect caused you to lose your case. In other words, you have no claim against your attorney if his mistakes would not have made a difference in the underlying lawsuit. Thus, to win, you must prove two cases: one that the attorney was negligent and, second, that you would have won the underlying lawsuit but for this negligence.
It is impossible to evaluate your situation without a detailed discussion of both your underlying lawsuit and what you former counsel did or did not do.
Please feel free to contact my office if you would like to discuss this further.
-- Kenneth J. Ashman; www.AshmanLawOffices.com; [email protected]
The information provided by Ashman Law Offices, LLC (�ALO�) is for general educational purposes only. No attorney-client relationship is established by this communication and no privilege attaches to such communication. ALO is not taking and will not take any action on your behalf and will not be considered your attorney until both you and ALO have signed a written retention agreement. There are strict deadlines, called statutes of limitation, within which claims or lawsuits must be filed. Therefore, if you desire the services of an attorney and decide not to retain ALO on terms acceptable to ALO, you should immediately seek the services of another attorney.
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