Claims against legal professionals are increasing
The legal industry is highly regulated for the protection of consumers, by ensuring that:
- Solicitors, barristers and other legal professionals are all comprehensively trained to provide high-quality legal advice.
- When carrying out their role, legal professionals owe their clients a professional duty of care to act in their best interests.
Generally, professional standards in the legal profession are high. However, we have observed a significant increase in instances of solicitor negligence claims against legal professionals in recent years.
If you think that you have Been Let Down by solicitor negligence and suffered a financial loss or loss of chance, we may be able to assist you with pursuing a legal negligence claim.
What is legal negligence?
Barristers and Solicitors go through rigorous training to become fully qualified and are regulated by the Bar Standards Board and SRA respectively. Normally, lawyers will complete their jobs to a high standard. However, sometimes their behaviour falls short.
Lawyers are expected to provide a professional level of service and should always act in the best interests of their clients. If the conduct of a lawyer falls below this mark, this may constitute legal negligence. As such, you may be able to make a legal negligence claim.
When you hire a lawyer, we understand how frustrating it can be to be let down, especially after you have put all your trust in them to do the job properly. If you have suffered damage or economic loss as a result of bad advice from a solicitor, you have every right to bring a claim for legal negligence.
Although it can be hard to trust lawyers after an unpleasant experience, we can help you to secure the compensation that you deserve. As expert legal negligence lawyers with decades of experience dealing with these kinds of claims, we will be on hand to help you get your life back on track after solicitor negligence.
If you are not sure whether what you have been through is solicitor negligence, get in touch with our team for a completely free initial consultation.
Who can you make a lawyer negligence claim against?
If you have received bad legal advice from a lawyer, you can claim against them if they have breached their duty of care and you have suffered a loss because of this breach.
Some of the lawyers against whom you can make a claim include:
- Barristers
- Business Solicitors
- Employment lawyers
- Family lawyers
- Medical negligence law firms
- Conveyancing lawyers
- Wills and probate lawyers
- Defamation lawyers
- Litigation lawyers
- Personal injury lawyers
There are other legal professionals against whom you can bring a claim, too. If you believe that you have fallen victim to legal negligence but the professional in question is not on the list, the best thing to do is get in touch with us. As expert legal negligence solicitors, we will be able to advise on whether we think that you have a good chance of success if you pursue your claim.
Can I sue my solicitor for negligence?
As many legal professionals are highly trained individuals who spend their lives in court, many people believe that they are immune from being sued themselves. However, it is simply not the case.
Lawyers that breach their duty of care can be sued just like any other professional who does their job badly.
Unfortunately, while most lawyers perform their job to an excellent standard and in line with the Solicitors Code of Conduct, there are some instances in which their service falls short of what is expected.
If you believe that the treatment you have received from a solicitor is negligent, speak with us. Our expert team of legal negligence solicitors is trusted and regulated by the SRA, so you can be confident that you are in safe hands.
What is the difference between a complaint and negligence?
Although legal negligence and legal malpractice complaints have many similarities, it is important to know the difference between subpar service and legal negligence.
If you are not happy with the way in which a lawyer has handled your case, the best thing to do is make a complaint to the firm directly. If you are wondering how to make a legal malpractice complaint professionally, the Law Society says that you should:
- Complain as quickly as you can
- Outline the issue clearly and state what you believe would be an appropriate solution
- Leave the firm eight weeks to respond
If you have gone through the above steps and are not satisfied with the response, reach out to the Legal Ombudsman. It is their role to help you with anything from poor communication to incorrect billing or even the loss of important documents.
If you believe that a solicitor has been dishonest, fraudulent or discriminatory, you can also file a report to the SRA.
How to sue a solicitor or lawyer for negligence in the UK?
To be able to bring a case against a solicitor for legal negligence, you need to have suffered a financial loss.
In many cases, knowing where the line is between a complaint and negligence can be complex. If you are not sure whether your solicitor was negligent or simply did a bad job, the best thing to do is get in touch with us, explaining your situation. With years of experience offering expertise to victims of poor legal advice, our team of legal negligence lawyers will be able to advise on whether we think you could bring a successful claim.
What are some examples of solicitor negligence?
Legal negligence is broad and covers many different scenarios. However, some of the most common ways in which lawyers are negligent include:
- Missing deadlines and limitation dates
- Acting against your instructions
- Under-settling on your case or missing out on crucial information when claiming on your behalf
- Giving incorrect legal advice or instructing unsuitable experts
- Making a procedural error or not investigating evidence properly
- Failure to advise on the different funding options including legal aid or No Win No Fee agreements
However, this list is not exhaustive. If you think that your solicitor acted negligently, the first thing to do is get in touch with our experts. Fill out the online form or call us on 0800 234 3234 and we will be in touch to arrange a free assessment where we will advise you on whether we think that you could bring a lawyer negligence claim.
Why choose Been Let Down as your negligence solicitors?
As a reputable firm of legal negligence solicitors, we are passionate about resolving issues around lawyer negligence. By helping our clients to succeed with their lawyer negligence claims, we not only ensure that they are compensated for their loss but drive up standards at the same time.
As a national firm with an excellent reputation that is backed up by hundreds of independent reviews, we specialise in providing justice to those who have fallen victim to lawyer negligence.
Although it can be difficult to trust lawyers after everything that you have already been through, we are here to make things right. With decades of experience under our belt and as an SRA-accredited firm, we are well versed in all sorts of different cases. Whether you are looking to make a lawyer negligence claim for improper conveyancing, a personal injury under-settlement claim or a claim against a solicitor arising out an inheritance claim, we can help.
If you want to get your life back on track after negligent legal advice, we are here to help. To arrange an initial consultation with us, either fill out your details on our simple online form or call us on 0800 234 3234.
Legal negligence FAQS
Yes, there are.
Although there are some exceptions, if you want to bring a claim for solicitor negligence, you will need to do so within six years of the negligent act taking place.
However, the best thing to do is get in touch with us as soon as possible. The sooner that you make your claim, the more likely that it is to be successful as you will have all the details and paperwork to prove your case to hand.
If you have received bad advice from a lawyer that has caused you financial harm, then you may have a claim.
As the area of law is complex, the best way to find out whether you can sue your lawyer for negligence is by speaking to us. As experts in professional negligence, we will be able to carry out an in-depth consultation to assess your circumstances, completely free of charge.
As part of your initial consultation, we will advise you on how likely we think your claim is to succeed. After that, it is up to you to decide what to do next. We will never pressure you into making a claim – that part is your decision.
The amount of compensation that you will get for your lawyer negligence claim, like many other types of claims, will depend on your unique circumstances. How much you will be awarded will depend on factors such as the extent of your financial harm.
As such, it is impossible to give a blanket figure representing the compensation to which you could be entitled.
At Been Let Down, our team of experienced legal negligence solicitors will work with you to evaluate your claim and calculate the losses that you have suffered. Once we have done that, we will be able to let you know how much compensation you could get for solicitor negligence if you choose to sue.
If you are thinking about making a claim, you might be concerned about how much suing your solicitor will cost. That is especially true if you have already paid for poor legal advice in the past.
At Been Let Down, we believe that you have been through enough. That is why, in most cases, we will be able to take on your case on a No Win No Fee basis. Otherwise known as a Conditional Fee Agreement, No Win No Fee means that, if we are unsuccessful with your claim, you won’t need to pay us anything.
If you are unsuccessful, you may be liable to cover the defendant’s costs. If we think that there is a possibility of this, we will advise that you take out After the Event insurance. This will cover the defendants’ costs should your case not be successful.
If we win you the compensation that you deserve, we will take a pre-agreed percentage of final damages awarded.
Contact us today
Get in touch today to find out how we can help you to bring a legal negligence claim and get the compensation that you deserve.
Please call us on 0800 234 3234 or contact us and a member of our legal team will call you back.
Rob Godfrey is the Head of Professional Negligence at Been Let Down. He is regarded as one of the UK’s leading negligence experts with over 25 years’ experience in litigation.
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