Legal Malpractice: No Harm No Foul

In a legal malpractice case you must prove” the case within the case” which means you must prove that but for the malpractice you would have had a better outcome. So the first thing you must prove is that your former lawyer was negligent. Then you generally need expert testimony that it is more likely than not that but for your lawyer’s negligence you would have won the underlying case. At this point you are almost there but remember that you must also prove that had you won the case your verdict would have been collectible. Schmidt v. Coogan, No. 41279-9-II, 2012 WL 5331567 (October 30, 2012).