Using Lawyer Disciplinary Complaint Forms To Report Legal Malpractice
Posted on: 11 October 2021
When you retain an attorney, you expect them to handle your case competently and treat you with respect. You never anticipate being taken advantage of or outright lied to as a client.
However, when you have reason to suspect that you or your case have been mishandled, you may wonder if you have any recourse available to you. Your first step in seeking remedy for your legal malpractice can be to utilize lawyer disciplinary complaint forms that you can find on the website for your state's court or bar association website.
Lodging a Formal Complaint
When you believe that your retained lawyer has mistreated you or your case, you have every right to confront them and express your concerns. However, your complaints might land on deaf ears. Your lawyer may fail to make any kind of amends with you.
At that point, you can use the lawyer disciplinary complaint forms available to legal clients in your state and lodge a formal complaint with the state's attorney general's office. The form that you fill out allows you to express in detail what you believe went wrong with your case, how your lawyer mistreated you or your legal matter, and what impact that this malpractice has had on your life.
After you submit the form to the state attorney general's office, you can expect the matter to be investigated thoroughly. If the AG's office believes the situation merits, it may sanction your attorney, have them pay you restitution, or pursue disbarring the attorney.
Creating a Formal Record
The lawyer disciplinary complaint forms that you can use also allow you to create a formal record of lawyer malpractice. You do not want this attorney to keep mistreating clients. You want to warn people who might retain them about the potential for malpractice and go on the record with your own legal mishandling.
Once you file the form, you effectively create a paper trail that potential clients can find and consider before they retain this attorney. They can take into consideration what you have noted in the form and decide if they want to put this lawyer on retainer.
Lawyer disciplinary complaint forms serve an important purpose for clients like you who have experienced legal malpractice. They allow you to lodge a formal complaint against your attorney. They also create an official record of malpractice. For more information, contact a local general attorney's office.
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