Lawyers have a duty to their clients and to the public at large to act professionally, honestly, and with a sense of fairness in all dealings. People come to lawyers seeking resolution of their problems and expect as much.

However, legal malpractice may arise from your own lawyer's misconduct or failure to use an adequate level of care, diligence, or skill. These potential breaches can cause tremendous harm.

Possible causes of legal malpractice may include:

• Failure to file a lawsuit within the appropriate statute of limitations (the time allowed to file a claim);
• Failure to file appropriate documents with certain administrative or governmental agencies in a timely manner;
• Failure to obtain appropriate experts in a case involving personal injuries, particularly complex medical malpractice or product liability cases;
• Settling a case without the client's full authority;
• Failure to divulge a potential conflict of interest to the client;
• Failure to obey court orders or file necessary papers or documents, resulting in dismissal of your case.

In order to be successful in legal malpractice claims, the plaintiff's lawyer must first prove that the underlying case would have been successfully resolved and then that the legal malpractice prevented that successful resolution. These cases are costly, time intensive, and require experience in a variety of areas of law.

Golomb & Honik lawyers have, for years, been successful in selective cases representing those who have been victims of legal malpractice. We have the experience, knowledge, and resources to achieve excellent results in these complex cases. Here is an example of our work:

• $500,000 for an Estate Victimized by Legal Malpractice Five years after initially suffering post-traumatic seizure disorder, a casino engineer was weaned off one medication and put on another by his treating neurologist. The neurologist did so in too rapid a fashion, in violation of the product requirements, and ultimately caused a grand mal seizure resulting in death. The casino engineer was a resident of New Jersey, while the treating physician was from Pennsylvania. As a result of the Pennsylvania neurologist's malpractice, the estate hired a New Jersey attorney who filed suit against the neurologist less than a week before the expiration of the statute of limitations in New Jersey. The matter was dismissed almost immediately for lack of jurisdiction, and the legal malpractice case ensued. Golomb & Honik attorneys filed suit in New Jersey for legal malpractice and at trial succeeded in proving the legal malpractice claim as well as the underlying medical malpractice claim. A $500,000 judgment was entered on behalf of the estate.