Trusted By The World’s
Leading Corporations

Photo of the legal professionals at Klein & Wilson

Did your previous attorney breach his or her fiduciary duty?

On Behalf of | Aug 3, 2020 | Legal Malpractice

When you need legal assistance, you do not want to ask just anyone for advice. You undoubtedly want a professional legal advocate who has the knowledge, education and experience to handle your case. Because choosing an attorney is an important step to take in any legal matter, you certainly did your research.

Unfortunately, despite your best efforts to vet your legal counsel, your attorney did not do his or her best. In fact, that individual may have breached his or her fiduciary duty to you, and as a result, your case may have suffered, and, subsequently, so did your interests.

Did your attorney carry out questionable actions?

If you believe that your attorney did not act in your best interests, he or she may have committed legal malpractice. On the bright side, if you believe that this did happen, you may have grounds to pursue compensation for the damages resulting from that malpractice. First, consider the following examples of breaching one’s fiduciary duty, and see if any applies to your situation:

  • Your attorney has an obligation to keep confidential information private. If he or she disclosed confidential information without your permission or without other valid reason, your attorney breached his or her fiduciary duty.
  • Your attorney also has a duty to avoid a conflict of interest in your case. If, for some reason, your attorney decided to represent you and someone else connected to your case, a conflict of interest exists.
  • If your attorney did not provide you with enough information to make a well-informed decision in relation to your legal issue, he or she may have committed a breach of fiduciary duty. Your legal counsel should clearly communicate about your options, the pros and cons of those options, the facts involved and more to ensure that you can make sound decisions.

Unfortunately, your attorney may have breached his or her fiduciary duty and committed legal malpractice in other ways. If you believe this has happened, you may want to further explore your options.

Taking additional legal action

Just because on attorney did not act in your best interests, it does not mean that every attorney you approach will mishandle your case. In fact, you may want to contact a California attorney experienced in handling cases relating to legal malpractice in order to gain information on how you can address your damaging experience with your previous counsel. You may be able to take legal steps to pursue compensation for those resulting damages.

Archives

Categories