Full question:
I have a friend that is going thru a divorce. Him and his wife first where going to be very friendly about the whole thing and went to a lawyer together decided how everything was going to be divided til the wife started pulling somethings. Then he went and got a lawyer for himself. His lawyer told him he should have done this from the beginning and he would take care of everything. My friend gave him a $1000 retainer. The lawyer called him once and told him that he was calling the wife's lawyer the next day and he would let him know. My friend received court document in the mail let him know that he was suppose to go to a mediator so he call this lawyer about this, the lawyer said to fax it to him and he would take care of it and let him know when they where going to court. His (ex) wife called him on Tuesday to ask where he was last Thursday as they had a court date and he wasn't there and they are now divorced! He called his lawyer and asked him what happen and he said oops I missed it! It also looks like his lawyer never registered with the court that he was my friends lawyer! Does my friend have any legal recourse against this lawyer? Or does the lawyer have something legally he needs to do for my friend?
- Category: Courts
- Subcategory: Attorneys
- Date:
- State: Michigan
Answer:
Legal malpractice is the failure of an attorney to uphold a duty to his clients to act with a certain standard of care. If the attorney fails in his duty to act as a reasonably competent attorney would, then he may be guilty of legal malpractice. In order to prove attorney malpractice, you must prove that the lawyer was negligent. Failure to file a required pleading and missing a court at that resulted in a judgment for the other party may be considered malpractice. It must be proven that the negligence directly the client in some way. The plaintiff would need to prove that the case would have been decided differently if counsel appeared at the hearing. We suggest talking with an attorney about whether it is possible to have the default judgment vacated.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
