Question 1

What is legal malpractice?

Accepted Answer

Legal malpractice occurs when an attorney fails to provide competent representation, causing harm to the client. In Florida, a legal malpractice claim requires four elements: (1) duty (the attorney owed a duty of care to the client, established by the attorney-client relationship), (2) breach (the attorney failed to exercise the degree of skill, care, and diligence commonly exercised by attorneys in the same community), (3) causation (the attorney’s breach caused the client’s loss; the client must prove they would have obtained a better outcome "but for" the attorney’s negligence), and (4) damages (the client suffered actual damages, such as financial loss, loss of a legal right, or adverse judgment). Legal malpractice is essentially a "case within a case": the client must prove both that the attorney was negligent and that the underlying case would have had a different outcome.

Question 2

What is the statute of limitations for legal malpractice in Florida?

Accepted Answer

The statute of limitations is 2 years from the date the client knew or should have known about the malpractice (Section 95.11(4)(a)). The discovery rule applies: the limitations period begins when the client discovers (or should have discovered) the malpractice, not when the malpractice occurred. However, there is an absolute limit: no legal malpractice claim can be brought more than 5 years after the date of the malpractice, regardless of when it was discovered (this is sometimes called the "statute of repose"). The continuing representation doctrine may toll (suspend) the limitations period if the attorney continues to represent the client in the same matter in which the malpractice occurred.

Question 3

What damages are available in a Florida legal malpractice case?

Accepted Answer

Damages: compensatory damages (the financial loss caused by the attorney’s negligence, measured as the difference between the outcome with competent representation and the actual outcome), consequential damages (losses flowing from the malpractice, such as interest on a judgment that should have been prevented, costs of additional litigation, and lost business opportunities), emotional distress damages (in limited circumstances, when the malpractice caused severe emotional distress), and attorney fees (the client can recover the fees paid to the negligent attorney and the fees incurred in pursuing the malpractice claim, in some circumstances). Punitive damages are available only in cases involving egregious misconduct (fraud, intentional harm, or gross negligence).

Legal Malpractice

Legal Malpractice in Florida

Four Elements

Statute of Limitations

Damages

Related Terms

Barnes Walker Litigation

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