Find Lawyers in Montréal, Quebec 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.
For more than 35 years, Bernard Amyot has developed a practice that is primarily focused on civil and commercial litigation. He has extensive experience before the Quebec courts, having represented Canada’s leading financial institutions. He has lectured and written frequently on legal issues of interest to his clients. His professional liability defence work extends to lawyers as well as stockbrokers, insurance brokers, engineers and accountants. He has acted as lead counsel in numerou...
Karl Delwaide has a reputation as a seasoned lawyer in the areas of public law and privacy and information protection law. He is one of the founders of the firm’s national Privacy and Information Protection group. Karl advises private companies and public bodies in these areas and represents them before the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec and other courts or tribunals, including the Federal Court. A large part of Karl’s practice is dev...
Mr. Patrick Henry is a litigator and a Partner in our Insurance Law Group. His practice focuses on insurance law, civil litigation, civil and professional liability and product liability law. Mr. Henry has pleaded before all judicial instances and appeal levels including on four occasions before the Supreme Court of Canada. His fields of practice include insurance law, civil litigation, civil and professional liability and product liability law.
Richard R. Provost is a partner in the Montréal office of Langlois Lawyers. He concentrates his practice in litigation primarily in the areas of insurance law, professional and product liability, construction law and commercial law. He has acted for clients in arbitration committees and at all trial and appellate levels. He has often been called upon to act as senior counsel in several important cases in his field of expertise and built a solid reputation, whether acting for plaintiff ...
James A. Woods , senior partner of the firm, practises in litigation and arbitration and pleads at all levels of federal and provincial courts in Ontario and Québec including the Supreme Court of Canada. Once again, named by Lexpert® 2017 as one of the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada – Montreal, Corporate and Commercial Litigation. Recognized by the Best Lawyers Directory since 2006 for his expertise in the fields of Bet-the-Company Litigation, Class Action Litigation, Corporat...
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