California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Lewellen v. Phillips, C062277, No. PC20060594 (Cal. App. 2010):
The requirement of causation applies to attorney malpractice actions. "[J]ust as in litigation malpractice actions, a plaintiff in a transactional malpractice action must show that but for the alleged malpractice, it is more likely than not that the plaintiff would have obtained a more favorable result." (Viner v. Sweet (2003) 30 Cal.4th 1232, 1244.) In the
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settlement context, the plaintiff must prove "'"[to] a legal certainty"'" that, had the case not settled, he or she would have obtained a better result at trial. (Barnard v. Langer (2003) 109 Cal.App.4th 1453, 1461-1462.)
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