Understanding Legal Malpractice in Missouri

A Legal Malpractice Attorney in Missouri can help

Legal malpractice, like the more commonly understood medical malpractice, is a form of negligence.  The difference is that legal malpractice is the negligence of an attorney.  And, like medical malpractice, legal malpractice is defined by certain required characteristics:

• There is a service relationship
• There is a standard of duty
• There is a breach of duty
• The client was harmed financially by the breach

The service relationship is between an attorney and the attorney's client.  The duty is the contracted legal service that the attorney has agreed to perform for the client. The standard of duty refers to the lawyer's responsibility to perform the legal services by defined standards that any reasonable lawyer is expected (or required by law) to perform.  The breach of duty occurs when the lawyer violates that standard by failing to perform the services as promised or as would reasonably be expected.  The harm is the tangible or intangible damages that the client suffered as a result of the lawyer's failure to perform.

Legal ethics rules in MO

Attorneys are bound by state laws and by the rules of the Missouri Bar.  These rules and laws create ethical and practical standards by which all lawyers and law firms in Missouri are governed.  In Missouri legal malpractice cases, the behavior of your lawyer is measured against these standards.  

To research the standards affecting legal malpractice law in Missouri before meeting with a legal malpractice lawyer in Missouri about your lawyer's legal negligence, study these resources:

• Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri, Legal Ethics Counsel
• Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct at the Cornell University Law School
• The Missouri Bar
• LegalEthics.com (Internet Legal Services)
• LII American Legal Ethics Library at Cornell
• National Organization of Bar Counsel
• Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers
• National Client Protection Organization Inc.

Examples of legal malpractice

Legal malpractice claims arise from a variety of failings.  Some common examples that may bring you into the offices of a legal malpractice attorney in Missouri for help include—

• An attorney misses a court filing deadline, making it too late for you to make a claim due to statute of limitations laws.
• An attorney breaches her fiduciary duty by acting in her own interest instead of yours, causing loss to you.
• An attorney breaches the contract he signed with you.
• The settlement check from your attorney bounces.
• Your lawyer settles your case without your consent and your contract specified that you must approve the settlement first.
• Your lawyer fails to communicate, resulting in lost legal opportunities.

What you can do about Missouri legal malpractice

The good news is that if you are a victim of legal malpractice in Missouri, there are legal malpractice attorneys in Missouri working to protect your rights as a legal client by acting on your behalf.  The Hershewe Law Firm, P.C., can help you make a Missouri legal malpractice claim against the negligent attorney that harmed you.  

Legal malpractice lawyers in Missouri

To talk with one of our Missouri legal malpractice attorneys, please contact us online or call 877.382.9734.  We are experienced in Missouri legal malpractice litigation and helping clients recover losses from bad lawyers through Missouri legal malpractice lawsuits.