Find Lawyers in Toronto, Ontario for Legal Malpractice Law
Practice Area Overview
There is extant litigation making its way through the courts where parties harmed by a lawyer’s tax opinion have sued on a “Hedley v. Byrne” theory where there was no direct retainer with the lawyer. There are other instances where a lawyer may be sued by a plaintiff who has no retainer, but for the vast majority of cases a lawyer will be sued referable to conduct carrying out the terms of a retainer.
“Legal malpractice” occurs when a lawyer conducts herself or himself in a manner referable to the retainer that fails to meet professional standards and such failings cause harm to the client.
A lawyer who fails to meet the accepted standard of practice by failing to exercise the care, skill, and diligence of a prudent member of the legal profession which causes loss to the client will be found to be negligent and in breach of contract and therefore liable to the client.
Since the needs of clients that give rise to legal representation are typically complex, it is necessary to use as an expert witness a lawyer similarly qualified as the lawyer being sued to establish the governing accepted standard of practice.
In the case of lawsuits against litigation lawyers, the entitlement to damages depends upon showing that the client would have succeeded in the underlying case if the lawyer had not breached his or her professional duties. In short, it must be shown that the lawyer’s failings likely resulted in an unfavourable outcome in the underlying action or put another way, a favourable result would have been achieved if the standard of practice was met.
It should also be borne in mind that a lawyer is responsible for the acts or omissions of his or her associates, clerks, and legal assistants.
Legal malpractice claims, as indicated, are typically complex and can be difficult to prosecute. The advice of lawyers skilled in this specialized area of law should be sought at an early stage to determine if a claim has merit and warrants prosecution.
Geoff is one of Canada’s best-known trial and appellate counsel. The breadth of his experience is virtually unmatched among Canadian litigators. Early on in his career Geoff practiced criminal law where he gained invaluable courtroom experience trying to verdict among other cases, an even dozen murder trials. His practice evolved over a few years into the field of civil litigation where he went on to try to verdict over 250 jury and non jury cases and argue in excess of 100 appeals befo...
Valerie is a senior member of our Litigation Group and is a highly respected member of the litigation bar. In addition to her extensive experience as trial counsel, she has appeared as appellate counsel before both the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. With more than 25 years of experience at the Bar, Valerie has demonstrated established expertise in damages analysis, including business loss claims, business and share valuations, and real property valuations. She has ex...
Paul's practice includes corporate commercial litigation, securities litigation, class proceedings, professional liability, claims against directors and officers, employment litigation and professional liability and regulation. Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Certified as a Specialist in Civil Litigation by The Law Society of Upper Canada. Bilingual, argues cases in English and French before all levels of Court as well as trib...
Paul co-founded Pape Chaudhury LLP with Shantona Chaudhury in 2018. Paul has over 45 years of experience as both trial and appellate counsel and has acted in many cases of significance. Paul’s litigation practice focuses on complex commercial, securities,class action, professional negligence, and administrative matters, with special emphasis on appeals in these and other areas. Paul is a senior and leading member of the Ontario Bar. Paul has been described as an “outstanding appel...
Executive Summary Gavin Tighe is a senior partner with Gardiner Roberts LLP and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Mr. Tighe is certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a Specialist in Civil Litigation and has appeared as lead counsel at all levels of Canadian Courts including the Supreme Court of Canada. He has significant experience successfully representing clients before securities industry tribunals in both Canada and the United States. Mr. Tighe also acts as counse...
A senior partner in our Commercial Real Estate Group, Sidney has a very broad business and commercial law practice. In addition to his traditional real estate law practice involving the purchase, sale and financing of commercial property, he is consulted regularly by industry, title insurers and lawyers for his expertise and his practical and creative approach to real estate problem solving, trouble shooting, and getting deals done. He also serves as counsel to the Lawyers’ Professional...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.