Legal Malpractice Attorney Pittsburgh, PA

Legal Malpractice occurs when a lawyer acts in a negligent manner in providing legal advice or representation to a client, and causes harm to the client. Negligence is defined as an act, or failure to act as a reasonable attorney would in the same or similar circumstances. In Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, a legal malpractice claim can be based on a breach of fiduciary duty, which exists when an attorney places his interests over those of his client, to the detriment of the client. Another is when the attorney breaches (or violates) his contract with a client.

In many instances, legal malpractice occurs when an attorney fails to timely file a lawsuit or other document with the court, which results in an adverse decision against you (or your case is dismissed).

Legal malpractice claims are complicated because they involve essentially two (2) cases. First, you must prove that your former attorney was negligent, and that you were harmed as a result. Then you must demonstrate that your claim in the underlying case – which was dismissed, or otherwise decided against you – was meritorious and you would have succeeded had the legal malpractice not occurred. This is referred to as “the case within the case”.

Legal malpractice cases, similar to medical malpractice cases, require that you establish the “standard of care” which governed the legal representation, and then demonstrate that the attorney violated that standard. Contact an experienced legal malpractice attorney at The Moschetta Law Firm, P.C. to learn your rights.