Making A Legal Negligence Claim When You Think Your Lawyer Has Been Careless

Professional negligence claims can be a potential minefield! Due to this those wishing to make a claim should seek the advice of a specialist lawyer in order to avoid unnecessary expense and wasted time.

Solicitors offer an increasingly wide range of services to their clients including handling the buying or selling of a property or indeed a business, preparing a will, administering contracts of employment, handling a relationship breakup etc. And whilst this increasing breadth or services is an apparent convenience to us the client, it does mean that mistakes are more likely to be made, especially when the work in question is outside the more solicitors normal field of experience. The law becomes ever more complex with each new set of reforms and so the chances of negligence increase year on year.

It is not uncommon for reputable solicitors to make avoidable mistakes that result in a loss to us, their clients. When there has been a breach of a duty of care you could claim damages.

Some of the common causes of upheld legal negligence claims are:

- Failure to ensure that is will is properly signed and witnessed.

- Missing court hearings

- Failure to notify clients of the true right of way over a property.

- A failure to spot relevant competition when two companies merge together.

- Failure to advise on the availability of ATE (after the event) insurance.

- Lack of preparation when solving your dispute about a contract of employment.

- Not ensuring appropriate warranties and indemnities are imposed.

- Failure to advise or comply with deadlines such as those imposed in the case of personal injury claims.

- The failure to show the correct email address and relevnat internet terms.

Of course pursuing a claim against a solicitor for legal negligence is something that many people are understandably reluctant to pursue. Legal negligence can be difficult to spot espicially when a lack of understanding is present. Also if it is your own lawyer who you are unhappy with, where do you go for advice? And even if you do decide that a claim is a possibility how much will it cost you and is it really worth it?

Thankfully there are an increasing number of Lawyers who specialise in the field of the professional negligence claim and who will very often offer an initial free consultation where the validity of your claim and the likelihood of raising a successful claim will be assessed. When the negligence solicitors in question believe that, one the balance of probabilities that you will win your case they often offer a conditional fee agreement (no-win no-fee).

Will my legal claim for negligence have to appear in court?

An experienced professional negligence solicitor will attempt to settle your case out of court. In summary, lawyers can and do make occasionally mistakes. Where that mistake breaches the duty of care they have to you the client and results in a significant loss you have the right to make a claim for legal negligence. For an accurate assessment of your case and its chances of success always contact a specialist professional negligence claim solicitor as soon as you suspect there has been a problem.


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Tim Bishop is senior partner at Bonallack & Bishop, a firm of professional negligence claim solicitors specialising in advising upon legal negligence claims. He is responsible for all major strategic decisions, seeing himself as a businessman who owns a law firm. Tim has expanded the firm by 1000% in 12 years and has plans for its continued development.