Do You Need an Expert Witness in a Legal Malpractice Case?
Legal malpractice cases are factually and legally complex, and most people bringing these cases need an expert witness to provide critical testimony. Contact The Peirce Law Firm if you have any questions about how to seek justice when a lawyer lies to you, commits fraud, or violates ethical rules. Our firm knows how to bring these cases the proper way, and we have developed a network of legal experts who can help with a claim.
What the Expert Witness Proves
The Pierce Law Firm uses expert witnesses for two purposes: to establish what your lawyer should have done while representing you and then prove how the lawyer’s failure ended up harming you.
Most legal malpractice cases are based on some error or omission committed by your lawyer. For example, your lawyer might have filed a personal injury lawsuit too late, outside the statute of limitations. Or your father’s lawyer drafted a will poorly, which resulted in you being disinherited or not receiving as much property as expected. These are legal mistakes which end up compromising your legal rights.
Legal malpractice is a type of professional negligence. That means your lawyer failed to act as a properly trained and skilled lawyer would in the same situation.
Texas law doesn’t require that your lawyer be perfect. And you can’t sue simply because you are upset with the result of the case. But you have a solid claim if the lawyer failed to act competently and professionally. A lawyer might have let the case languish or filed a legal document too late. These are obvious mistakes which end up leaving clients worse off.
An expert witness can establish how a hypothetical competent lawyer would have acted. And then the expert can testify as to whether your attorney met that standard. Without an expert, juries would have no way of knowing how to judge a lawyer’s competency.
Who Makes a Good Expert Witness in a Lawsuit?
The lawyer helping you bring a malpractice case cannot act as a witness for you, so we usually seek out another experienced lawyer to serve as witness. A good witness might be a professor who teaches legal ethics and professional responsibility at a nearby law school. Or they could be lawyers with decades of experience in the field.
This expert will help show the judge and jury that you received substandard legal services, and you suffered a loss as a result. For example, an expert in a personal injury case could testify that your lawyer should have introduced other medical records during your car accident trial.
One reason to work with a law firm like Pierce Law is that we can find credible experts. The defendant will also have a lawyer who represents them in the case, so it is critical to have an expert who withstands cross examination.
Call Our Office Today
Few people know whether they have a valid legal malpractice claim. Pick up the phone and call us to schedule a consultation. An experienced Houston legal malpractice lawyer can discuss your legal options and what other evidence you need.
Source:
texas.public.law/statutes/tex._civ._practice_&_remedies_code_section_16.003