Top Austin, TX Legal Malpractice Lawyers Near You

Legal Malpractice Allegations

If you believe your lawyer negligently or recklessly represented you in a legal proceeding that resulted in an unfair or unjust outcome, you may have a valid claim of legal malpractice. An Austin Legal Malpractice Attorney can help you determine whether you have a case, and help you recover for your losses.

Legal Malpractice Cases

All lawyers are required to act diligently, ethically, and with vigor in their representation of clients. Unfortunately, various and often unforeseen circumstances can cause an attorney’s representation to be less than adequate, which can result in actual harm and damages to a client. This is known as committing legal malpractice.

Common types of legal malpractice include missing court filings, failing to communicate, allowing conflicts of interest to persist, failure to know the law or perform research, misuse of client trust accounts, and client abandonment.

Top Questions to Ask When Hiring an Attorney

• How many years have you been practicing law? How long have you practiced law in the local area?
• How many cases similar to mine have you handled in the past?
• What is the likely outcome for my case?

In legal practice, experience matters. An experienced attorney will likely have handled issues similar to yours many, many times. Therefore, after listening to your situation, the attorney should have a reasonable idea of the time line for a case like yours and the likely resolution.

What to Expect from an Initial Consultation

• Seek to determine whether the attorney can represent you. There is no one-size-fits-all legal solution and it may turn out your needs are better served by an attorney in a different specialization.
• It’s important to find a legal ally who is both competent in the law and someone you can trust to protect your interests.
• Discuss how the practice’s billing works and discuss possible additional charges or fees that may arise during or after the resolution of your case.

An attorney consultation should provide you with enough information so that you can make an informed decision on whether to proceed with legal help.

How to Find the Right Attorney

• Determine the area of law that relates to your issue. Attorneys specialize in specific practice areas around legal issues within the broad field of law.
• Seek out recommendations from friends, family, and colleagues. A successful attorney or practice will typically have many satisfied clients.
• Set up consultation appointments to get a better understanding of your case as well as gauge your comfort level with different attorneys. Find the attorney who is the right fit for your needs.

Common legal terms explained

Personal jurisdiction – Requirement that a particular court have authority over a person, in order to bind that person to the judgment of the court, based on minimum contacts. International Shoe Co v. Washington is a landmark Supreme Court case outlining the scope of a state court’s reach in personal jurisdiction.