Legal Malpractice Lawyers in Denver, Colorado
Legal malpractice can occur when a lawyer performs some act that reasonably careful attorneys would not do or fails to perform an act that reasonably careful attorneys would do. In determining whether malpractice has been committed, the lawyer’s conduct is compared to what an attorney using the knowledge and skill of attorneys practicing law at the same time would or would not have done under the same or similar circumstances.
In addition, a client who has been wronged by his or her lawyer may, under appropriate circumstances, sue the lawyer for breach of contract or breach of fiduciary duty. A breach of contract claim can arise when an attorney breaches a duty to his or her client to perform a specific, mutually agreed upon term in the attorney retention agreement. A breach of fiduciary duty occurs when an attorney obtains a personal advantage in dealing with a client or when the attorney creates circumstances that adversely affect the client’s interests.
Of course, a malpractice claim does not arise every time a lawyer loses a case or gives advice that ultimately turns out to be incorrect. Malpractice and ethical violations can occur, however, when a lawyer damages a client by, for instance, missing a statute of limitations, failing to record an interest in real or personal property, neglecting a client matter, misusing client funds or when a lawyer gives a client advice on a course of action when the lawyer just plain does not know what the law is.
Over the past sixteen years, Semler & Associates has developed a distinguished reputation representing clients who have been damaged by their attorneys’ negligence or other wrongful conduct. The firm has asserted claims against lawyers based on negligent and wrongful acts committed in matters as diverse as patent lawsuits, debtor/creditor relations, real property transactions and commercial contract disputes. Claims in those and other cases have arisen from a wide variety of misconduct, such as failures to know and apply the law, failures to conduct adequate investigations and discovery, failures to meet statutes of limitations and other deadlines, and failures to follow reasonable client instructions.
If you believe that you have been subject to attorney negligence or other wrongful conduct, contact the Colorado legal malpractice lawyer at Semler & Associates, P.C. to explore your rights and options.
