We Step In When Your Lawyer Fails

Yes. Like any professional, attorneys can be sued if they fail to do what a competent professional would have done under the circumstances, or if they fail to abide by rules that govern their professional conduct in the practice of law. Here are some red flags that may indicate your lawyer has committed malpractice:

• Failing to meet a deadline imposed by a law or regulation, including a filing deadline such as a statute of limitation.
• Failing to identify a conflict of interest between the lawyer’s interests and the client’s.
• Providing representation in an area of law where the lawyer has inadequate knowledge or experience.
• Making or failing to correct significant drafting errors in contracts or other documents.
• Failing to properly investigate a matter.
• Failing to conduct and respond to discovery.
• Failing to hire and designate expert witnesses.

Many times, a legal malpractice claim involves a case within a case. In those instances, our attorneys look at your original lawsuit that was botched and consider what you likely would have ended up with had it not been mishandled. Then we consider the harms and losses caused by having to bring the legal malpractice case to correct the problem.

For some claims, this is a fairly straightforward calculation. For example, if a contract dispute was negligently handled we may ask for the amount of the original contract plus funds to cover fees, missed opportunities, and any other negative effects of the claim.

For other claims, such as criminal malpractice, the harms and losses become more difficult to quantify. How do you place a price on missing out on an entire year with your children? How do you make up for a 20-year prison sentence that never should have been imposed?

In these situations, we review your case and cases like yours that have set a precedent. We look at every part of your original claim and ask “What would this client have ended up with otherwise?” From there, we can find numbers that make sense.

That’s why it’s important to work with lawyers specializing in medical malpractice. At Cooper Elliott, we understand the complex legal requirements involved with filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, and we know what it takes to win.

After a law firm has failed you, we can understand that you might want to know everything you can about us.

Since Chip Cooper and Rex Elliott co-founded Cooper Elliott law firm in 1995, they and the firm have received numerous accolades, including:

• The National Trial Lawyers Top 100
• U.S. News & World Report
• Tier 1 in the regional for personal injury litigation
• Members of the Million Dollar and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum
• Fewer than 1% of lawyers are members of this elite group of attorneys who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements for clients.
• You can also research our firm and any Cooper Elliott attorney on peer-review websites like martindale.com and superlawyers.com.

Finally, we are invested in winning every case. Cooper Elliott uses a contingency model, which means we only get paid if you win a verdict or receive a settlement.