Legal Question in Discrimination Law in California
Legal Malpractice
I hired atty to represent me against my employer for age discrimination. Atty interviewed another employee & then he started representing the other guy. My atty never notified me until my trial was almost over. When it came time in court for this guy to testify, my atty did not put him on stand-said he did not want to hurt his (the other guy) case! This employee was my main witness! I lost my case. My atty basically stopped working on my case when he started representing other guy. I have copies of the other guys case, and is almost duplicate of mine-Age Discrimination. I already talked to State Bar, and they told me to definitly send in info so they can review. Can I sue my atty for malpractice, conflict of interest, breach of contract, tort, etc, while State Bar is investigating, & Do attys have malpractice insurance? I cannot afford another atty, so I am going to try to file suit myself. I know it will be hard, but I feel so taken advantage of, especially since atty never even told me he was representing the other employee until my trial was half over! When I asked him when emply was going to testify on my behalf, Atty said ''I can't have all of my clients testifying at your trial''. Blew me away. Thanks for any info!
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Legal Malpractice
Assuming you can prove what you say through credible evidence, you may have a malpractice case. You'll have to prove you had a good case and that he did it harm. You'll find that such cases are sometimes taken on contingency, so check with attorneys in your area. You would be foolish to go pro per, you don't know anything necessary to successfully prosecute your case.
Re: Legal Malpractice
You did the right thing by contacting the State Bar and having them investigate any ethical violations. But you are making a big mistake to try to represent yourself in a legal malpractice lawsuit. These are complex cases, even for experienced counsel. You will be in over your head without counsel. Don't assume you can't retain an attorney. Interview several attorneys who handle legal malpractice and, if you have a good case, you should be able to find someone who will work out some kind of workable arrangement. You have one year from the date you reasonably learned of the malpractice to file suit.
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