Do I have a case to sue my divorce attorney?
Additional Information:
I just settled in mediation. I am receiving less child support than what I think I am entitled to. My attorney had 2 days to review the discovery documents, she never reviewed them with me. I asked her to request documents but I never knew if she got them, then on mediation day, 4 days before court she pressured me to settle because she said I couldn’t afford to pay her to go to court, when at the beginning she said she would work a payment plan with me. Do I have a case to sue my divorce attorney? What is involved in a professional malpractice case?
Attorney Answer:
It is quite difficult to be successful in suing a divorce attorney for advising a client to settle a case on terms less than what you believe you should have settled for. Many factors go into determining whether a settlement is fair and reasonable, and a judge will not approve a settlement unless he/she finds that it is fair and reasonable to both parties. Child support payments are largely determined by a formula set under state law, and no judge will approve a settlement that calls for payments less than what is due under the formula. Malpractice cases are lengthy and very hard to prove on the best day. They are also expensive, in that you need an expert witness (another divorce attorney) to testify at trial that your divorce attorney’s conduct fell below the “acceptable standard of care”.
Attorney Alan Fanger is a Greater Boston professional malpractice attorney. He serves the entire Greater Boston and Boston metrowest region including Norfolk County, Suffolk County, Middlesex County and the communities of Arlington, Boston, Braintree, Brookline, Cambridge, Canton, Concord, Dedham, Dover, Framingham, Lexington, Milton, Natick, Needham, Newton, Norwood, Quincy, Sherborn, Sudbury, Waltham, Wayland, Wellesley, and Weston, Massachusetts.
