Is it Legal Malpractice for a Lawyer to Miss a Hearing in Court?
Full Question:
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.
