Legal Malpractice

Legal Malpractice in the United States

Legal Malpractice Definition

Malpractice in this Legal Encyclopedia
Malpractice definition in the Law Dictionary

Legal malpractice concerns tort lawsuits brought by clients against their attorneys for negligently or intentionally bungling their cases. This is distinct from disciplinary proceedings brought by bar associations against attorneys for breach of the professional responsibility rules.

Legal Materials

The leading treatise in the field is Mallen’s Legal Malpractice.

Westlaw has databases for judicial opinions (MMAL-CS for all states, xxAL-CS for a particular state), “Jury Verdicts and Settlements” (JV-ALL) and “Law Reviews, Texts & Bar Journals” (MAL-TP) related to legal, medical and other kinds of professional malpractice.

Cross References

For professional responsibility materials, see “Legal Ethics.” For attorney disciplinary records, see “Attorneys.”