Detroit Legal Malpractice Attorneys

Every day, Detroit residents rely on various professionals to help them with tasks their own education or career training can’t match. Regardless of your skill in your chosen profession, you may have little experience with the legal system一which means you may have turned to an attorney for help with a personal injury, employment, or probate matter, to name a few. 

Like other Michigan professionals, attorneys can be held responsible if they fall short of the legal standards for their profession in ways that harm their clients. Experienced Detroit legal malpractice law firms like Sommers Schwartz understand the rules and standards of legal malpractice. We’ve successfully fought to protect clients when previous attorneys failed them. 

What is Legal Malpractice?

The Michigan Model Civil Jury Instructions use the terms “malpractice” and “professional negligence” to refer to the same situation: A member of a profession did or failed to do something that a member of that profession “of ordinary learning, judgment and skill” wouldn’t or would have done.

Legal malpractice compares the actions of an actual lawyer to those a lawyer “of ordinary learning, judgment, and skill” would have taken in the same or a similar situation. Would a lawyer of ordinary learning, judgment, and skill have given this advice, made this decision, or failed to take this action? If the answer is “no,” a claim for legal malpractice may exist. 

Examples of potential cases of legal malpractice may include:

• An attorney violates one or more terms of their contract or fee agreement with you.
• An attorney agrees to take you on as a client but never follows up with you or pursues your case.
• An attorney provides advice that is directly contrary to law, that undermines your position, or that causes you to take steps that severely disadvantage you, such as missing a key deadline.
• An attorney makes a serious legal error while representing you, such as missing the statute of limitations to file your claim.

Other unlisted examples of legal malpractice may also occur. It’s important to seek advice if you suspect that a lawyer’s actions or inactions resulted in harm to you. 

When considering a legal malpractice claim, it’s critical to distinguish between the failures of lawyers who are not meeting professional standards and simply don’t receive an optimal outcome for clients. Michigan law does this through the “attorney judgment rule.” This rule protects lawyers who act in good faith to support the best interests of their clients – even when they make honest mistakes. To establish that legal malpractice has occurred, an injured person and their attorney must show that the original lawyer’s behavior was more than a mere mistake. Rather, the original lawyer took steps that an ordinarily skilled attorney would not have taken. 

This standard for professional negligence or malpractice doesn’t only apply to lawyers. Michigan cases have applied the same standard to physicians, dentists, chiropractors, accountants, architects, and other professionals. 

Michigan courts have a keen interest in evaluating legal malpractice claims, however. Legal malpractice claims are one way that the legal profession in Michigan becomes aware that members of the profession are falling short of their duties – thus undermining the public’s trust in lawyers and the legal system. When a legal malpractice case is brought to light, lawyers and judges alike examine it carefully. Doing so protects not only those who were harmed by malpractice but also the entire legal community. 

Time Limits on Filing Michigan Legal Malpractice Claims

Michigan sets strict time limits on filing legal malpractice claims in its state courts. Under the Revised Judicature Act, a legal malpractice claim must be filed within six months of the date of the alleged malpractice. 

Several factors may affect exactly how this six-month period applies. For example, if more than six months pass between the malpractice event and the time the injured person could have discovered the harm they suffered, the six-month period begins to run from the date the person could have discovered they’d been harmed. Michigan courts require the person filing the lawsuit to prove that they couldn’t have discovered their losses any earlier. 

Regardless of the date a person can discover they’ve been harmed by malpractice, Michigan’s statute of repose requires all legal malpractice claims to be filed within six years of the date of the alleged malpractice. 

Calculating the time limits for filing a legal malpractice claim can be challenging. One thing is clear: There’s no time to waste. 

Elements of a Detroit Legal Malpractice Claim

Most legal malpractice claims are based on one of two legal principles: Breach of contract or negligence. While the time limits for filing each type of claim are the same, the ways in which you and your new lawyer will discuss and prove your case may differ.

In a malpractice claim based on breach of contract, you and your attorney will focus on the terms of the contract and the ways your original lawyer fell short. While some contract-based claims are straightforward, others require close attention to the details of the contract’s wording and the nuances of Michigan law.

In a malpractice claim based on negligence, Michigan law requires the person filing the claim to prove four elements:

• Duty. Did the attorney have a duty to represent you? Did the attorney-client relationship exist – and if not, what responsibilities, if any, did the attorney have?
• Breach. If the attorney had a duty, how did the attorney fall short of that duty?
• Causation. What is the connection between how the attorney fell short of their duty and the harm you suffered? Courts may look into both how the harm actually occurred (cause in fact) and whether that harm was foreseeable (proximate cause). 
• Damages. What did you lose as a result of the harm caused by the attorney’s breach of duty?

Regardless of the type of legal malpractice case you have, courts will likely begin by determining whether an attorney-client relationship exists. An attorney-client relationship typically begins when an attorney agrees to provide advice or services, usually in exchange for a fee. While most lawyers use written fee agreements to mark the start of a relationship, the agreement doesn’t have to be in writing for an attorney-client relationship to exist.

Sometimes, it’s obvious who an attorney’s client is, but not always. For example, if a company hires an attorney, who does the attorney represent – the company or the individuals that comprise its board of directors? Typically, attorneys hired by companies represent the company itself rather than the individuals that run it. Yet those individuals may be able to bring a claim of legal malpractice on behalf of the company. 

The question “When does an attorney-client relationship begin?” can be a challenging one. So can the question “When did the attorney-client relationship end?” Typically, attorney-client relationships end when:

• The client fires the attorney, hires a new attorney, or otherwise revokes the attorney’s ability to act on the client’s behalf.
• The attorney files, and the court grants a motion to withdraw. 
• The matter for which the attorney was hired (such as to litigate a case in court or to draft a business contract) ends. 

Determining when the relationship ends is important: It affects the time limits for filing a legal malpractice claim. Yet it can also be baffling, especially in cases where an attorney agrees to take on a case yet does nothing. 

Both contract-based and negligence-based legal malpractice claims will also explore the question of damages or your losses as a result of the attorney’s alleged malpractice. Damages may range from the loss of money paid to a lawyer who then did nothing or the loss of the opportunity to file a lawsuit. 

In any legal malpractice case, the person filing the claim must demonstrate that they suffered an actual loss, such as a financial loss. If there is no actual injury, there is nothing for the court to remedy, even if the court finds the lawyer fell short of their professional standards. 

It’s important to work with an experienced lawyer who understands both the far-reaching nature of legal malpractice damages and how to demonstrate their full impact on your life or business. An experienced Detroit legal malpractice lawyer can help you ensure you present a complete case to the court and maximize your opportunity for recovery.

Contact the Sommers Schwartz Legal Malpractice Attorneys Today

If you suspect you’ve been harmed by legal malpractice, you may be hesitant to work with a lawyer again. You may question whether your next professional relationship with a lawyer will end as badly as the last one did. 

Attorneys who focus on helping people injured by legal malpractice do so because they believe strongly in the integrity of the legal profession – more than they believe in any one lawyer. Legal malpractice attorneys fight for their clients because they know that the only way to prevent future instances of malpractice is to secure justice for those who have already been harmed.

To learn more, contact the legal team at Sommers Schwartz PLLC today. Our Detroit legal malpractice attorneys will help you understand your legal rights. To learn more, contact us today for a free and confidential consultation.