Prosecuting Legal Malpractice Claims

Legal malpractice claims are unique. While a lawyer's negligence is an essential element of every malpractice case, most cases rise and fall based on whether or not a plaintiff can establish causation. To prove causation a plaintiff must ordinarily prove what amounts to two cases: the malpractice case and the underlying case.  

Join attorney Dan Abrams as he outlines this "case within a case" framework and the host of pleading, discovery and trial issues that a civil litigator will never encounter outside of a legal malpractice case. Mr. Abrams studies the considerations unique to prosecuting legal malpractice claims that arise at the four stages of a case: case intake/pre-suit, complaint, discovery, and trial. 

This course presumes some familiarity with civil litigation. It is designed to help a lawyer handle a legal malpractice prosecution or at least advise clients about such litigation. 

Learning Objectives: 

I.    Identify the difference between strong claims and weak claims before taking on the case

II.   Recognize the steps to take before filing the lawsuit

III.  Understand how to plead a legal malpractice claim, conduct plaintiffs' discovery, and survive dispositive motion practice

IV.  Successfully approach the legal malpractice trial