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6. Mounting a Pro Se Lawsuit
You can always sue your attorney yourself. It's one of the most magnificent rights you have as a citizen of this country. You can even do part of it yourself and hire an attorney to do another part of the lawsuit. Nevertheless, you must keep in mind that the choice of suing your attorney yourself is not for the faint-hearted. While it will take such enormous commitments of time, the undertaking can be very satisfying if you have the fortitude, and the eagerness to learn about your state's judicial system.
You must begin by learning the rules of civil procedure. There are handbooks available for practitioners—you become a real practitioner as a pro se litigant. (Click here to view the WestLaw Bookstore).
There are also good form books that also provide examples of the papers you will invariably need to draft and submit to the court. (WestLaw Bookstore).
Keep in mind that one of your first steps will be to contact your lawyer's insurer. If you have already taken the right steps in retaining your attorney, you already have the name of his carrier. Demand that your attorney notify his insurer of your claim, and provide you with the insurer's name. Try to maintain communication with the claims adjuster Send copies of important correspondence. He will avoid you but keep in mind he must monitor and approve all of the payments made to the lawyer defending against your claim. Also keep in mind that this place is the origination of bad-faith insurance practices.
Finally, you will need access to the cases that define the substantive law the judges will follow in your state. A law library, law section of a public library or bookstore will be helpful. Your part time lawyer /consultant might even allow you access to the online private libraries, such as West or LexisNexis. Of course, the world of cyberspace you're now using offers increasingly more information about every area of law including legal malpractice itself.
You might think about retaining an attorney on an hourly basis to assist and teach you how to litigate your own case. Someone in your local area ought to be willing to become your counselor and adviser in this undertaking if you have valid claims and are reasonable about seeking a remedy.
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