Suing your lawyer is not easy. Legal malpractice suits generally arise due to violation of the code of ethics by lawyers. The most common causes are:

•  -  Failing to file a lawsuit within the statute of limitations time period. But before filing the case, you should make sure that the time has expired. In many cases, the statute of limitations can be extended beyond the initial period.

•  -  The lawyer has a conflict of interest with you. He may have ties that prevent him from representing you to your best advantage.

•  -  Settlement issues: Your lawyer may not communicate settlement offers to you. He may also accept less compensation without your knowledge.

A legal malpractice case could be a long and difficult one for you. It could also cost you a lot of money. This is because of three reasons. First, legal malpractice involves working on two cases simultaneously. One is the underlying case, and the other is the malpractice case. Second, malpractice suits are usually not settled out of court. And third, it is very difficult to prove all the elements of a legal malpractice suit.

Because of these reasons, you should explore all alternatives before going ahead with the case.

Once you have exhausted all possible options, you would want to file a suit against your lawyer. Any legal malpractice lawyer considering taking your case will want to know the following things:

•  -  Whether your original lawyer had malpractice insurance.

•  -  Whether your provable losses are high enough to risk taking the matter to court

•  -  Whether the statute of limitations really did expire