Legal Malpractice and Your Professional Negligence Claim

If you find yourself on the receiving end of a breach of the law or a breach of the duty of care owed by a professional, you may find that the situation can become extremely stressful and emotional especially when it cannot be solved amicably.

Quite correctly, you contact a solicitor whom you trusted to bring justice or to claim compensation. However you feel that you have been given incorrect advice and poor service. You could be able to claim professional negligence against the solicitor which was dealing with your case.

Professional negligence refers to poor advice or service received from those qualified and experienced in their specialist area, for example; solicitors, barristers, architects and estate agents. These errors need to be proved and usually an independent professional and a governing institution or association will be involved.

Should this incorrect advice or poor service have led to the client suffering any damage or loss, they may be entitled to make a claim against the professional for professional negligence. You will however be prevented from making a professional negligence claim if you just feel unsatisfied with the service received but you haven't actually suffered any loss.

So what happens if the solicitor acts incorrectly too? It is common for clients to fear that solicitors will only protect themselves and that they will not want to take on a professional negligence claim against another solicitor. In fact there are many scenarios where this can, and has, occurred and with a successful outcome.

An example is where a solicitor misses an important legal deadline, which means that your entitlement to claim is lost. This is the same as any other legal process completed by a solicitor and may mean that you miss out on getting your compensation. Another example is where concerns are raised about a negligently drafted will, which has the effect of preventing a loved ones wishes from being realised.

There are numerous different types of cases of professional negligence that can be brought against a solicitor, for example purchase claims to commercial or civil disputes, property sales or divorce. It can even be a case of solicitor legal negligence arising out of professional negligence claims themselves.

If you do feel like you have received sub-standard treatment from a legal professional, then do seek legal services elsewhere, an experienced professional negligence solicitor will be able to advise you on the merits of your claim and help you get the compensation you deserve.


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Bonallack & Bishop are specialist professional negligence claim solicitors. If you need advice on your legal negligence claim contact one of their lawyers today. Tim Bishop is senior partner at the firm, responsible for all major strategic decisions. He has grown the firm by 1000% in 13 years and sees himself as a businessman who owns a law firm