What is the Difference Between an Ethics Violation and Legal Malpractice?
Posted March 10th, 2020.
Categories: Legal Malpractice.
There are few things more disconcerting than hiring an attorney who fails to live up to expectations, especially if you paid a significant amount of money for one. What’s more, attorneys not coming through frequently results in serious legal difficulties that can drastically impact your life. Unfortunately, this happens more than we’d like to admit, however, by filing a legal malpractice lawsuit against your attorney, you may be able to recover the damages you once thought were lost.
However, that being said, one of the most frequently asked legal malpractice questions has to do with the difference between an ethical violation and legal malpractice. To better understand each of these terms, we should break down exactly what they mean. Legal malpractice is defined as negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, or breach of contract by an attorney that harms his or her client.
That being said, though certain ethical violations are disgraceful and a valid reason to have an attorney removed from the Bar, an ethical violation does not necessarily mean you have grounds for a legal malpractice case. Ethical violations come in various forms, such as attorneys ignoring clients’ calls or emails, or even an attorney failing to notify a client of a settlement payment. These are all reprehensible forms of attorney behavior. An attorney’s job is to honestly and efficiently assist their client through every step of the legal process. When they fail to do so, they often breach their duty of care. However, to win a legal malpractice claim, you will have to prove that your attorney’s negligence caused you to sustain significant damages.
Simply put, as long as your attorney can prove that had it not been for your initial attorney’s negligence, you would have won your case, you will most likely have a valid legal malpractice lawsuit. The Law Offices of Mark S. Guralnick has been helping individuals through the legal malpractice claims process for years, and our experienced team is ready to do the same for you. If you have any additional questions about the claims process going forward, please do not hesitate to reach out to our knowledgeable New Jersey legal malpractice attorney today.
Contact our experienced New Jersey firm
The Law Offices of Mark S. Guralnick is an experienced and committed legal team for clients throughout the state of New Jersey. Our team effectively serves victims of legal malpractice. If you require the services of a dedicated attorney, please contact The Law Offices of Mark S. Guralnick today for a free consultation.
