With over fifty years of protecting the rights of the individual, Wagner, Vaughan & McLaughlin is one the foremost client advocacy firms in the nation. We would be honored to review your case and, if taken, to fight vigorously for you.
 

Legal Malpractice Free Case Evaluation Form

We are willing and eager to evaluate your potential legal malpractice case and discuss its merits and value with you. There is no charge for our preliminary evaluation and discussion, but we do need certain information from you to perform our evaluation. The quality of our evaluation is dependent upon the accuracy and fullness of the information you provide to us. Once we receive the information requested below, we will contact you to discuss our evaluation.

Your full name:

E-mail Address:*

Mailing Address:

 

 

Home Number:

Work Number:

Best time to reach you if you prefer a response by telephone:

How would you like for us to respond to you (e.g., telephone, e-mail, regular mail, doesn't matter)?

It is impossible to prepare a form for easy completion for all of the many types of possible claims individuals may have against an attorney. This page is intended to give you a general format for providing information which may be helpful in pursuing potential claims against an attorney. Whatever you tell us here is confidential. We are prohibited under the ethical rules established by the Florida Supreme Court from revealing the substance of anything you communicate to us here without your prior approval.

Generally, to sue an attorney for legal malpractice, you must have been the client Ð that is, you must be the person who retained, or on whose behalf retained, the lawyer to perform some legal service for you. There are some, but very few, exceptions to this rule.

Did you or someone on your behalf hire the attorney?

If not, how are you associated with or related to the person who did (e.g. the beneficiary of a will or trust, the survivor under a wrongful death claim, etc.)?

For what type of case or legal problem did you hire an attorney to represent your interests?

When was your attorney retained and how long did he or she represent you?

Does the attorney still represent you and, if not, when did representation end?

What was the result of the attorney’s representation (e.g. was the case lost, did you have to settle for a smaller amount, the Court ruled against you or dismissed the case, the will was invalid, you lost the sale of the property, etc.)?

Please explain what happened that caused this unacceptable or unanticipated result. What did your attorney do that you believe was negligent or damaged you in some fashion? Please be as specific as possible.

Do you have the documents that relate to the lawyer’s work on your behalf (letters, representation agreement, court papers, etc.)?

Some people are worried about naming their lawyer. It is very helpful for us to know, at this early juncture, the name of lawyer about which you are complaining and the name of his or her firm. We may know something helpful about the lawyer that influences the evaluation of your case. What is the name of the attorney and firm?

Were there other lawyers, law firms or professionals involved in your case? If so, who were they and what were their roles?

You have only so long to sue a lawyer, generally two years, and it is often difficult to determine when the period begins to run and when it expires. When was the lawyer negligent, when did you find out about the negligence, and when were you damaged as a result?

Have you contacted any other lawyer about your potential claim and, if so:

Did that lawyer agree to represent you?

Are you still being represented by that lawyer?

Are you now seeking a lawyer to represent you, or are you interested mostly in a second opinion?

Do you owe any other lawyer a fee in this matter?

Have you negotiated with any insurance company or any other person in connection with this claim and, if so, are those negotiations still ongoing?

What was the lowest settlement amount that you asked for?

What was the highest amount that you have been offered to settle?

Is there any other information that you want to provide us or believe that we should know in evaluating your case and consulting with you?

Would you like to arrange a personal interview?

If you are finished, agree with the above, and want to send this information by e-mail:

If you want to start over to correct or change information:

INTERNET SECURITY: Sending information over the internet is not always a secure way to send information. While we will keep the information you send us over the internet CONFIDENTIAL once it is received in our office, we cannot be assured that it will be secure while being transmitted to our office. If you have any concerns about that, please print the information above and mail it to us at:

Wagner, Vaughan & McLaughlin, P.A.
601 Bayshore Boulevard
Suite 910
Tampa, Florida, 33606

THE SERVICE WE PROVIDE: When we receive the information you have provided, we will evaluate the information and then contact you (in the manner you have requested) to tell you:

a. Our preliminary evaluation of the merits of your case
b. Whether we would be willing to represent you.

Obviously, the information you have sent us may not be sufficient to provide full answers to the above matters. If more information is needed, we will contact you to obtain the necessary additional information before we give you our evaluation of your potential claim.

We will try to be in touch with you within a short period of time. We are an active law firm with many trials, however, and on occasion the requirements of providing service to our current clients may cause us to delay answering your inquiry. If you do not hear from us within a reasonable time, don't hesitate to call. Under most circumstances, you should expect to hear from us within two days of our receipt of your inquiry.

OUR FEES: We charge no fee to provide the limited service described above. If you decide to employ our firm to represent you, we will provide contracts for you to read and sign. We also suggest you read the "Protecting Your Rights" tab on this site. If we represent you, we are willing to do so on a "Contingent Fee" basis, that is, you will owe us no fee for our services unless we make a recovery for you, and in the event of a recovery, your fee will be a percentage of the amount recovered, as outlined on this site and in the written contract we will provide to you.

LIMITATIONS ON OUR SERVICE:

  1. The advice we provide is obviously limited by the information you provide to us. Final advice would be based upon a complete evaluation of your entire case. This cannot be accomplished with the limited information you have given us above. Often a full evaluation of a claim cannot be given without collecting considerable information, records, and other investigation. Often a decision about a claim can only be made after a personal interview.
  2. Your claim may be barred by one or more Statutes of Limitations. These statutes provide that if a suit is not brought within a certain amount of time, the claim can never be thereafter brought. Likewise, the information you furnish may be furnished at a time so close to expiration of the statute of limitations that we do not have time to provide any help to you before the time expires. By asking for our help, you agree that we are not liable for failing to file suit on your behalf or failing to take any other action on your behalf.
  3. You are not obligated to employ this firm by sending this information. Likewise, we are not obligated to accept you as a client by providing this help to you. We reserve the right to decline to represent you for any reason whatsoever. Once we have provided the limited service mentioned above, we reserve the right to refuse to become involved in further evaluation of your claim or in providing further advice. If we decline to represent you, or to provide additional advice, we will so advise you in writing at the address you have given us.

ADDITIONAL SERVICES: We are available to provide additional advice and services upon written or telephoned request unless we advise you of our decision not to do so as outlined above. Please feel free to write us at our Bayshore Office if more information is needed. It always helps to send along as much information as you have to help us help you.