What are the elements of a legal malpractice action?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Peters v. Smith, E058163 (Cal. App. 2015):
"In a legal malpractice action arising from a civil proceeding, the elements are (1) the duty of the attorney to use such skill, prudence, and diligence as members of his or her profession commonly possess and exercise; (2) a breach of that duty; (3) a proximate causal connection between the breach and the resulting injury; and (4) actual loss or damage resulting from the attorney's negligence. [Citations.]" (Coscia v. McKenna &
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Cuneo (2001) 25 Cal.4th 1194, 1199-1200.) Failure to prove any element is fatal to recovery. (Namikas v. Miller (2014) 225 Cal.App.4th 1574, 1581 (Namikas).)
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