Legal malpractice

Lawyers are also susceptible to legal malpractice. Clients are suing their former attorneys for negligently handling their cases. Lawyer Blame N. Simons, in his book Games Lawyers Play With Your Money (1978), revealed that the type now beginning to blossom will remind writers and readers of short stories that use the “biter bit” plot. It is the case of the trickster who finally falls victim to his own trickiness, of the bad guy who wins all the way until he steps into the trap he himself has set. “Hoist by his own petard” is a commonly used expression to describe the situation. Is the shyster the biter who will be bitten?

A lawyer who has lost a case is in a precarious position of being sued for malpractice. There is an old joke going around that when a client wins the case, he shouts, “I won, I won!” But when he loses, he turns to his attorney and exclaims, “You lost, you lost!” Most lawyers who win a case advise their clients “We have won,” and when justice has frowned upon their cause.. .“You lost” (Nizer, My Life In Court, 1960). A score of legal malpractice suits were minimal in numbers a few years ago. But today, these suits are exploding. In fact, in the United States, there are law firms that exclusively handle legal malpractice actions. This is an emerging legal specialty. The alarming trend scares the wits out of lawyers. Lawyers suing fellow lawyers may soon cause the extinction of the species. The Philippines is dangerously following this Western trend in professional malpractice litigation. Professionals are easy targets because of the delicate nature of their work, strict ethical responsibilities and their relatively high earning capacity.