California Legal Malpractice Attorneys

Legal or attorney malpractice is described as a lawyer's failure to render professional services with the skill, prudence, and diligence that an ordinary and reasonable lawyer would use under similar circumstances.

Every time there is a "bad" or "unfortunate" case outcome it is not necessarily legal malpractice. If an attorney gave what turned out to be "bad" or "the wrong" advice, you cannot automatically accuse the prosecutor of legal malpractice. No professional can ensure or promise a positive outcome for his client. It is important to remember that what creates liability is the lawyer's failure to act in the manner the ordinary or reasonable lawyer would act in handling that matter for his client.

To successfully win a California legal malpractice case, a plaintiff must prove that the lawyer's negligence was the legal cause of some actual damage to the plaintiff. Damages may not be based upon sheer speculation or surmise, and the mere possibility or even probability that damage will result from wrongful conduct does not render it actionable. It is not sufficient to allege that the underlying case should have settled for more or resulted in a higher verdict at trial. It is not sufficient to allege that "if" the plaintiff had been given the right advice, he might have spent less money in a transaction, or might have received more in the transaction.

For legal malpractice in litigation cases, the need to prove actual damages requires the plaintiff to prove what he would have recovered in the "underlying" action, and that he was denied that recovery by the actions of the lawyer. The jury instruction which is read in California legal malpractice cases tells the jury that California law requires a plaintiff who establishes malpractice on the part of his or her attorney in prosecuting a lawsuit must also prove that careful management of it would have resulted in a favorable judgment and collection thereof. Because of this, the "new" attorney must litigate the "case within the case": that is, he must not only prove that the first attorney was negligent, but also that there would have been a recovery in the lawsuit the attorney was hired to prosecute. If there was difficult or no liability in the underlying case, there is little chance of a recovery in a legal malpractice case. If the defendant had no insurance, or had no assets from which a judgment could be satisfied, there is no actual damage that can be recovered in the legal malpractice case.

If you would like further information or believe you are the victim of legal malpractice in California, contact us for an evaluation of your particular situation.

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Super LawyersBISNAR | CHASE 2006-2010 Super Lawyers names outstanding lawyers from more than 60 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. BISNAR | CHASE has received this award for five consecutive years. Brian Chase was named one of the 2010 Top 50 Orange County Lawyers.


California Legal Malpractice Lawyer Disclaimer: The orange county legal malpractice, lawyer negligence, legal mistake or other orange county california legal information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer or attorney client relationship. Any results set forth here were dependent on the facts of that case and the results will differ from case to case. Please contact an orange county lawyer or California legal malpractice attorney at one of our Southern California law firm offices located in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino. This web site is not intended to solicit clients for matters outside of the State of California, although we have relationships with attorneys and law firms throughout the United States.

California Personal Injury Attorneys and Southern California Wrongful Death Lawyers serving all of California including Los Angeles, San Diego, Fresno, Santa Barbara and Ventura and Orange County, including Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, Huntington Beach and Newport Beach.

The BISNAR | CHASE Personal Injury Attorneys serve all of California. We represent personal injury clients and car accident victims in Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Ventura County, San Diego County and San Francisco County. We serve Newport Beach, Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Lake Forest, Orange, Santa Ana, Tustin, Westminster, Los Angeles, Torrance, West Covina, San Francisco, Riverside, San Bernardino, Victorville, Ventura and San Diego. In addition, we represent personal injury clients in other states through our associations with local law firms. Through the local firm, we will be admitted to practice law in their State, pro hac vice, meaning for this particular occasion. When in our client's interest, we employ the local law firm (at no additional cost to our client) to assist us with routine court appearances and discovery proceedings to more efficiently pursue our client's cause.

©1999-2010 BISNAR | CHASE Personal Injury Lawyers - All rights reserved. Addresses: Orange County Personal Injury Lawyers - 1301 Dove St., Suite 120, Newport Beach, CA 92660; Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyers - 1111 South Grand Ave., Suite 101, Los Angeles, CA 90015; San Francisco Personal Injury Lawyers - 5139 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 92118. Phone: 1-800-561-4887

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