I’m often asked by clients whether my representation of plaintiffs in legal malpractice cases impinges upon my professional relationship with other attorneys. The answer is definitely not. Most attorneys understand that they should be held responsible for the damages caused by breaching the standard of care in representing a client.
After my legal malpractices cases are concluded, the attorney who was sued will often acknowledge that I’m providing a valuable service to the public. The risk of a legal malpractice lawsuit encourages attorneys to practice law in a competent and diligent manner. This, in turn, raises the standard of care for all Maryland attorneys. Since I began practicing law in Maryland more than 20-years ago, the professionalism of the average attorney has increased.
The only negative reaction I have ever received was from a semi-retired Maryland attorney, who had been practicing law since the mid-1960s. This senior attorney thought that it was absolutely awful that I was representing a client in a legal malpractice case against one of his good friends. It was his opinion that negligent attorneys should not be sued, but rather should receive informal counseling and private instructions so as not to make the same mistake again.
