Investigating Legal Malpractice Cases
Provided by Allen N. Cowling
Normally, when someone retains the services of a
criminal attorney to represent them, there usually is a very serious problem. In most cases, the
attorney that was retained does an honorable job, conducts discovery, researches laws specific to the
case they are defending and properly prepares themselves and their clients for trial.
Unfortunately, that is not always the case. There are
some attorneys who have no regard or concern for their client, attempt to defend them with no
preparation whatsoever and say, "Well, I did the best I could," when their client is
convicted of crimes they never committed.
Worse yet, when, and if, the client realizes they were
convicted because of ineffective assistance of counsel and they attempt to get another attorney to help
them, they are usually faced with, "Oh, I could not get involved in filing a lawsuit against
another attorney."
The fact is, there are attorneys who will take a legal
malpractice case, but even if you cannot locate an attorney, all is not lost. We have seen clients who
filed suits against their former attorneys "Pro Se," or without a lawyer. That is a basic
constitutional right.
The real key to winning a case of this nature is to
first, and very quietly, prepare a full report or document containing every incident that would or
could be used as a basis for an ineffective assistance of counsel or legal malpractice lawsuit. It is
vital to realistically determine if there really is a case. This should be done even before you ever
attempt to consult any attorney. By taking this step, when you do talk with an attorney, you have
specific facts to present to them that will not be seen simply as "sour grapes" because you
are angry at your former attorney.
Obviously, the first order of business is to determine
what a reasonable attorney would, or should have done under the circumstances. For some insight into
that, I would recommend that you read our page, Your Attorney, and all
the links attached to that page.
I specialize in defending clients who have been falsely
accused of molesting children and notice, I said "falsely." I tell clients going into a case
that I do not defend child molesters and if I find that they are guilty, I stop all work and the client
forfeits any and all fees they may have paid me. The point is, I have a choice as to whom I work for
and that is somewhat different than most attorneys. Attorneys generally defend clients because it is
their job and if their client were to ask their attorney if they think they are guilty, the attorney
will simply say that does not matter, they are entitled to the best defense possible. Well, it does
matter. False allegations of child sexual abuse are the most difficult cases to win because of the
emotion involved. No one wants to tell a crying child they are a liar, but that is exactly what must
happen for a judge or jury to acquit an accused who was charged with molesting that child.
One of my problems in these cases are some of the
attorneys who are, or who have been involved. Many treat the case as a job, with no emotion and simply
go through the motions of preparing a defense. In reality, many don't even prepare that defense
until the eve of trial. I have seen some of the most uncaring, egotistical, arrogant attorneys
imaginable and the shame is, they have someone's very life in their hands. No one person has all
the answers and when responsible for defending someone's life, there should be no egos
involved.
The fact is, most attorneys have no experience at
handling sexual abuse cases. On, I realize some will yell, "But I was a prosecutor and I have a
lot of experience." No question, they probably do, but there is a world of difference in
presenting a sexual abuse case as a prosecutor than there is in defending the accuser in that same
case. Also, many attorneys will tell you they have a great deal of experience in defending sex abuse
cases, but they have no idea who the experts are, have never used any of them and they have no idea
what the current scientific literature says on various subjects they will probably encounter as they
prepare for trial.
I am as passionate about defending a client who has been
falsely accused of child abuse as I am in assuring that I am not representing a child molester. For
that reason, I believe in preparing as prefect a defense as possible and one of the first things I look
at in any case I take is the attorney. Where exactly do they stand? What have they accomplished? Is
their heart in the defense or are they simply going through the motions. Are they open to any
assistance? The fact is, based on the guidelines of the American Bar Association, if an attorney takes
a case they are not familiar with, it is incumbent on them to associate themselves with someone who
does have knowledge.
I have worked on and consulted in many cases, assisted
in many trials and I have been involved in a number of wrongful convictions. In every wrongful
conviction case I have ever seen, the issue always came down to ineffective assistance of counsel, one
way or another. Some attorney was simply to lazy to do their job properly, or they depended on their
"big shot" "courtroom appearance" to get them through it. They failed and becasue
of that, an innocent person was sent to prison and a family was destroyed.
We investigate these legal malpractice cases for
clients, worldwide and I have absolutely no problem at all dissecting a case and identifying the
problems for exactly what they are. That is not difficult because I have worked with some of the best
attorneys in this country and over the past 40 years, they have taught me how it should be done. For
further information regarding our company or services, click the link below to go to our home
page.
You have accessed one of the many pages here at the
Cowling Investigations, Inc., a False Allegation Defense Website. For an explanation of how we assist
our clients who have been falsely accused, see Our Expertise, We Can Help. If you have been
falsely accused, see What to Do - What Not to Do When Falsely Accused.
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