Legal malpractice

	Tort law
	Part of the common law series
	Intentional torts
	Assault · Battery; False imprisonment Intentional infliction of; emotional distress (IIED)
	Property torts
	Trespass (land · chattels); Conversion; Detinue · Replevin · Trover
	Defenses
	Consent · Necessity; Defense of: (Self · Others · Property); Privilege of: (Arrest · Discipline); Recapture of property; Recovery of land
	Negligence
	Duty of care · Standard of care; Proximate cause · Res ipsa loquitur; Calculus of negligence; Rescue doctrine · Duty to rescue
	Specific types Negligent infliction of; emotional distress (NIED) Employment-related · Entrustment; Malpractice (legal · medical)
	Liability torts
	Product liability; Ultrahazardous activity
	Nuisance
	Public nuisance; Rylands v. Fletcher
	Dignitary torts
	Defamation · Invasion of privacy; False light · Breach of confidence; Abuse of process; Malicious prosecution; Alienation of affections
	Economic torts
	Fraud · Tortious interference; Conspiracy · Restraint of trade
	Liability, defences, remedies
	Comparative / contributory negligence; Last clear chance · Eggshell skull; Vicarious liability · Volenti non fit injuria; Ex turpi causa non oritur actio; Neutral reportage · Damages; Injunction
	Duty to visitors
	Trespassers · Licensees · Invitees; Attractive nuisance
	Other common law areas
	Contracts · Criminal law · Evidence; Property · Wills, trusts and estates
	Portals
	Law
	v • d • e

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Legal malpractice is the term for negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, or breach of contract by an attorney that causes harm to his or her client. In order to rise to an actionable level of negligence, the injured party must show that the attorney's acts were not merely the result of poor strategy, but that they were the result of errors that no reasonable attorney would make. Furthermore, legal malpractice requires the showing of an injury that would not have happened had the attorney not been negligent. If the injury would have occurred despite different (non-negligent) actions by the attorney, no cause of action will be permitted. Legal malpractice can also occur when an attorney breaches a fiduciary duty to his or her client. This occurs when attorneys act in their own interest instead of to their client's, to the detriment of their client. A claim for legal malpractice may also arise when an attorney breaches the contract they sign with their client.

A common basis for a legal malpractice claim arises where an attorney misses a deadline for a filing of a paper with the court, such as a statute of limitations, and this error is related to the loss of the client's cause of action.

In the past, few lawyers would bring malpractice suits against their own, the other members of their profession. Consequently, cases of legal malpractice were rare in comparison to other types of professional malpractice (such as medical malpractice or breaches of fiduciary duty). Recently, the trend in the legal profession is to be less reluctant to bring a legal malpractice action where a client has been damaged by a lawyer's negligence.