You trust your lawyer to be your legal ally and not drop the ball when the outcome of your case is at stake. In reality, procrastination can create a ripple effect across the preparation and litigation of your case, causing it to ultimately suffer defeat.
This unfair treatment of the legal matter you entrusted to your attorney is likely to be legal malpractice, and it is one of the most common reasons for legal malpractice in the United States. Here are some ways procrastination is involved in legal cases.
Inaction
How can delays in action impact a legal case? Simple inaction can cause some of the most common legal malpractice reasons including:
- Failure to file documents by deadlines
- Failure to react to calendar appointments
- Failure to follow instructions of the court
Postponement
Your lawyer’s postponement of significant tasks in the case can not only be distressing, but it can also affect your award status and the amount of your restitution. Red flags for this aspect of procrastination is a continual lack of communication on the status of the lawsuit or excuses about the outcome of the case.
Inadequate Discovery
If you occasionally shirked your homework responsibilities in grade school, you know about putting in an inferior performance so that you could turn something in to the teacher. The same principle applies to inadequate discovery or investigation in a legal case.
If you feel that you have been a victim of legal malpractice due to your attorney’s procrastination, an avenue exists for you to pursue restitution for the poor handling of your case. You can retain the services of a legal malpractice lawyer within the two-year statute of limitations and sue your former attorney to redress your loss.