Missed Deadlines Equal Malpractice Claims
Computer Based Redundant Calendaring and Tickler Systems Severely Reduce the Chances of Missing Deadlines
We have included here a number of articles and resources detailing the perils of missing deadlines and the best way to avoid missing deadlines; which is using a computer-based redundant calendaring and tickler system, and conflict checker.
Deadline (Docket) Control from The Litigation Paralegal: A Systems Approach"Studies tell us that some of the errors most often leading to malpractice claims include missed dates when an action must be filed (statute of limitations) (and) missed procedural deadlines... Office procedures and systems, such as those for timekeeping and disbursements, reduce errors. One critical system is deadline control. Missed deadlines are the primary reason law offices are sued for malpractice. Every office must have a system ensuring that deadlines are met. These systems, often called tickler systems, involve a regular calendaring (docketing) process."
Types of Legal Malpractice: Missing a Deadline or Statute of Limitations"The law is full of deadlines. When lawyers fail to act before a deadline or statute of limitations is up, this can be legal negligence. Failing to act on a deadline could compromise a client's case and lead to serious legal and financial consequences. For example, if your lawyer fails to make your claim within a certain period of time, you may lose your right to that claim forever, Because of the critical importance that deadlines hold, lawyers must be held responsible for missing them."
When Attorneys Miss Deadlines"It doesn't matter how good your case is if your attorney misses the Statute of Limitations or fails to comply with a judge's deadline. An attorney must be knowledgeable of the substantive law and must be aware of all legal deadlines that can affect the case. When an attorney misses a deadline, an entire case can collapse. Anyone whose lawsuit has suffered because of a missed deadline should contact a legal malpractice lawyer."
Lawyer Who Specializes In Suing Lawyers Gives Advice On How To Stay Out Of Trouble "We are a deadline business. The obvious deadline that is of most concern is the statute of limitations, but there are plenty of other deadlines that people miss: deadlines to file motions; deadlines to take discovery; deadlines to file appeals. The reason people miss those deadlines is because they don't write those deadlines down on their calendars... You've got to be disciplined about that - disciplined and organized. I think a lot of people make mistakes because they're not organized... Missed deadlines I think, statistically, is the largest area where mistakes are made. "
WHAT ARE SOME COMMON TYPES OF MALPRACTICE?
A. MISSING A DEADLINE "The law is full of deadlines. If you fall on public property you have 90 days to file a Tort Claims Act Notice of Claim. You have 60 days to file an Affidavit of Merit in a professional malpractice case. Pretrial discovery often must be finished within a certain number of days. if you want to sue for slander you to have to do so within one year of the slander, but you have 2 years to sue for other kinds of personal injuries. The statute of limitations to sue on a written contract is 6 years but if that written contract is an insurance policy, it is one year. Lawyers sometimes miss deadlines, just as airline passengers sometimes miss flights. It happens all too often but there are consequences for the client and lawyers must stand behind their work."
Prepare Personnel"Small firm and solo practitioners seeking to guard against such situations as conflicts of interest and missing court dates should look into software and services designed to limit malpractice liability... According to the ABA, missed deadlines are another leading cause of malpractice suits. In a recent case, a San Francisco law firm missed a court deadline by a full month."
Top 10 Ways Not to Blow
a Statute of Limitations"According to an ABA nationwide
study, over 20 percent
of all legal malpractice claims
result from missed deadlines. Not
surprisingly, statutes of limitations
are the most commonly
missed deadlines."
Preventing Legal Malpractice"Do be very careful about keeping your calendar. Missed deadlines account for 20 percent of all legal malpractice claims, according to Mallen & Smith. Whether you use a Palm Pilot, a laptop, or a scraggly�looking old book that you pull out of your pocket, the important thing is to write down every deadline, event and due date. Then, look at your calendar every day�twice a day. How many times have you missed a date that was right there in your calendar, if you had only looked at it? You can�t afford to do that. If possible, have a dual calendaring system, with your secretary or paralegal in charge of one and you carrying a duplicate. "
Minimize Risk with Better Calendar Management"Malpractice claims are filed for a variety of reasons,
but the leading cause is missed court deadlines.
Missing a deadline is, as the Ninth Circuit called it in one ruling,
a 'lawyer's nightmare.' ... Despite the danger of missing or miscalculating a court deadline,
it happens. In fact, what may be surprising is that it does not happen
more often. Many law firms rely on paper calendars ... Others lack a centralized court calendaring
system and allow each attorney to use his or her own methods. All
of these leave law firms vulnerable to missing court dates. Without
an automated, ... centralized system, court calendaring
can be tedious, time-consuming, and painfully prone to errors."
Patent lawyers are slammed by insurance rates" Legal malpractice insurance covers errors and omissions, and is commonly used when a client sues a lawyer for missing a deadline and thereby harming an underlying lawsuit or application.
Attorneys and insurance brokers say that while claims against patent lawyers are rare, mistakes on patent deadlines can be expensive enough to scare underwriters away or make them increase prices. "
Practice Areas Generating Most WILMIC Claims and OLR Grievances"The American Bar Association says that, on average, each lawyer will be the target of three malpractice claims during his or her career. If you're practicing in plaintiffs' personal injury, real estate, family law, or estate planning, the odds might be even higher... Many malpractice claims arise as a result of mistakes that often can be avoided. Calendaring errors account for most of the claims that WILMIC deals with. 'Missed deadlines account for more than one in every five malpractice claims...' "
Avoiding Legal Malpractice Claims"Write it in your calendar, and then write it in another calendar. The number one cause of legal malpractice, by an overwhelming margin, is missed deadlines. Most lawyers have a false sense that something so easy as meeting a deadline is not so hard. But the reality is that deadlines change, compete with other deadlines, and are just plain forgotten. So make a habit of writing all of your deadlines in your calendar, and then have a secretary or docket clerk make a backup calendar. And most importantly, remember to review your calendars daily."
Malpractice Cases Based on a Missed Patent Filing"Many legal malpractice cases involve missed deadlines, and this is true in the context of patent-law malpractice cases. A missed patent application filing can result in the client suffering significant injury through the loss of its ability to make money off of its invention."
Ex-Client Sues Lawyers Who Missed EEOC
Filing Deadline, Then Dropped Her Case"A Georgia woman who settled an age and sex discrimination suit against her former employer this year has set her sights on recovering $230,000 in fees, plus other damages, from her former law firm."
On Deadline"Apparently, there's no vaccine for legal malpractice suits against IP lawyers.
A fledgling San Diego biotech company is suing Foley & Lardner for allegedly missing the filing date on an international patent application.
"
Texas Law Firm Missed Immigration Filing Deadline, Workers Claim"Houston's Boyar & Miller faces seven recently filed malpractice suits alleging the firm missed an April 2001 immigration filing deadline, which has serious consequences for dozens of current and former employees of the Cafe Express restaurant chain.
Because of that missed deadline, the petitions allege, the plaintiffs, who are undocumented aliens, lost out on an opportunity to become permanent residents of the United States, and some also lost their jobs.
"
Legal Malpractice, Ethics, and
Your Support Staff"Learn in chilling detail
the enormous risk you
take when you cut corners
on staff training and
supervision, and find out
what to do about it."