Discovering that your attorney mishandled a major business matter can leave your company facing lost revenue, a weakened legal position and serious doubts about whom to trust next. Recognizing what each option can and cannot do gives you a clear place to start.
Comparing a bar complaint and a malpractice lawsuit
A State Bar complaint can lead to discipline such as suspension or disbarment, but it does not award malpractice damages. A lawsuit seeks payment for the harm your former lawyer’s negligence caused.
Your company may pursue both paths when the conduct violates ethics rules and supports a damages claim. The complaint can help shield other clients while the lawsuit addresses your losses. The State Bar’s Client Security Fund may also reimburse money taken through theft or other dishonest acts.
Proving negligence and financial loss
An unfavorable ruling in a contract dispute or a failed acquisition does not prove malpractice on its own. Your company must show that the attorney fell below the standard of skill and care a reasonably careful lawyer would use in similar circumstances. You also need to tie that lapse to an actual financial loss.
That link requires evidence that your company would more likely than not have obtained a better result without the error. In a business deal, this could mean declining the agreement entirely and avoiding the loss it caused. Damages may include money you would have recovered or reduced deal value.
Reviewing deadlines and filing options
Your company generally must sue for malpractice within one year after it discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the facts behind the error. A four-year limit from the date of the mistake also applies, and the earlier deadline controls.
You may obtain your client file and have independent counsel review it before the deadline. If you also dispute fees, a malpractice lawsuit ends your right to request or continue mandatory fee arbitration. A State Bar complaint may proceed before, during or after a civil case, but it does not extend your time to sue.