CALL NOW
New Jersey Improper Investigation Legal Malpractice Lawyers
Top-Rated NJ Legal Malpractice Lawyers Advocate for Clients Who Suffered Financial Losses Because of a Lawyer’s Improper Investigation
One of the most important aspects of a lawyer’s job involves conducting their own investigation to get evidence about what happened in your case. Simply relying upon the other party’s version of events is very unlikely to result in a successful outcome for the client—because in a legal dispute, the primary goal is usually to disprove the other party’s version of events. Conducting an improper investigation—or failing to investigate at all—can amount to a violation of your lawyer’s duty to zealously and competently advocate on your behalf.
Were You A Victim of Legal Malpractice And Have Questions? We Can Help, Tell Us What Happened.
At Team Law, we know the importance of conducting a proper and thorough investigation for our clients—because we have been practicing law for a collective six-plus decades. We know what it takes to successfully help clients get justice in complex legal malpractice cases—and we have recovered over $650 million for clients to date. We have been recognized by:
- Super Lawyers,
- The National Trial Lawyers Top 100,
- Martindale-Hubbell Rating Service, receiving both “preeminent” and “distinguished” designations by this peer review system.
Our lawyers represent clients throughout New Jersey and Team Law has offices throughout the state for your convenience. If you believe you were harmed because your lawyer conducted an improper investigation—or no investigation—into your case, we can help you understand your legal rights. To schedule a free case review, call our office or fill out our online contact form today.
Examples of Potentially Improper Investigations by a New Jersey Lawyer
Learning everything possible about your case should be your lawyer’s number one priority when accepting your case. Unfortunately, a comprehensive investigation takes a substantial amount of work—and can be costly. Lawyers with insufficient resources or experience may try to cut corners and rely instead only upon information that is readily available. Depending upon the facts, this may be wholly insufficient to build a proper case for the client.
Most ordinary people who hire a lawyer have little experience navigating the legal system. You might not be sure whether your lawyer did everything they could to win your case. Generally, your lawyer’s investigation may have been inadequate if the lawyer:
- Failed to conduct discovery, or failed to review the information provided in discovery,
- Failed to locate and interview witnesses,
- Failed to prepare witnesses ready to testify on your behalf,
- Failed to obtain and carefully analyze all of the prosecution’s evidence in a criminal case,
- Did not hire medical, financial or accident reconstruction expert witnesses when needed to provide valuable evidence in your case,
- Failed to adequately prepare for trial.
If you believe your lawyer failed to conduct an appropriate investigation into your case and missed valuable evidence, call Team Law’s top-rated legal malpractice lawyers today. We are available to review your case for free to explore options.
Establishing a Claim for Legal Malpractice Based on Improper Investigation in New Jersey
When your lawyer fails to investigate your accident or the circumstances surrounding your criminal charges, much of the favorable evidence in your case can be lost. What constitutes a “proper investigation” will depend upon the facts and circumstances of your underlying case.
Establishing your right to recover compensation based on an improper investigation by your old lawyer can be complicated by many factors. In general, we will work to prove the following to build your claim for malpractice:
- Your lawyer-client relationship existed (creating a duty on the part of your old lawyer),
- Your lawyer’s improper investigation into your claim amounted to a breach of your lawyer’s duty to provide competent and zealous representation,
- That breach caused you to suffer harm.
What amounts to an improper investigation can vary dramatically. For example, some car accident claims indicate that the lawyer should hire an accident reconstruction expert who can testify to the cause of your accident—while other cases are much more cut and dry, so that the funds spent on the expert would be wasted.
Get Advice From An Experienced New Jersey Legal Malpractice Attorney. All You Have To Do Is Call 1-800-832-6529 To Receive Your Free Case Evaluation.
Questioning Your Lawyer’s Investigation into Your Case? Call Our NJ Legal Malpractice Lawyers for a Free Case Review Today
A lawyer’s failure to properly investigate might lead to a situation where you accept a lower settlement offer than you deserve or are convicted of a crime you did not commit. These consequences are obviously serious.
At Team Law, we can investigate your underlying case ourselves to determine what might have happened if your old lawyer adequately investigated. To learn more about how we can help, schedule a free case review with our top-rated New Jersey legal malpractice lawyers today.
Frequently Asked Questions About Legal Malpractice Claims Involving Improper Investigations in New Jersey
Testifying before a judge or jury—or even in a recorded deposition in a lawyer’s office—can be an overwhelming process for almost anyone. When presenting witnesses, it is your lawyer’s job to know the information that the witness will provide. It is also your lawyer’s job to anticipate how the other side will try to discredit the witness.
In some cases, failure to prepare the witness can lead to situations where the witness’ testimony is unhelpful at best. When your lawyer fails to investigate the witness—and the other party has properly investigated—unpleasant surprises can happen. The other party may elicit information from the witness that actually damages your case. (Note—the same works in reverse. A proper investigation should include investigating the other party’s witnesses to find out what information they have).
Legal malpractice can take many forms in New Jersey. At the most basic level, when a lawyer is inexperienced, lacks necessary resources or is just lazy, the success of your case can be jeopardized because the lawyer fails to properly investigate your case. Part of providing competent representation is knowing everything reasonably possible about a client’s case. Instead of taking your case and doing a poor job, your lawyer could have:
-Referred you to a more experienced or financially stable lawyer, or
-Asked another lawyer to help.
Failing to take these actions is a form of lawyer negligence. If we can prove that you suffered harm because of it, you should be entitled to hold the lawyer accountable for malpractice.
Team Law is outstanding. Everyone is courteous and knowledgeable and I felt that I got the personal attention that I needed.
what our clients are saying
