| Abstract [eng] |
Every member in a society has a general duty of care, duty to act closely, to cause no damages to others. But some groups of the professionals (attorney, doctor, auditor, etc.) because of the specific of their jobs must exercise reasonable skill and care. The defendant of the professional attorney’s liability case is a negligent attorney who committed the damage, or a private legal entity, if it is established. The plaintiff may be both attorney’s client and non-client, who suffered the damage. The plaintiff determines which either contract law or tort law must be applied. It must be proved the attorney’s duty of care, the breach of that duty, attorney’s negligence, fault, plaintiff’s suffered damages and a causal link between the damages and negligence to find attorney guilty in a professional liability case. The burdens of alleging and proving may vary – in some countries (for example USA) all the conditions must be proved by plaintiff, in others (Lithuania) the fault is presumed. The attorney’s duties may be found in the rule of law, contract between attorney and the client and in the legal ethics requirements. Practice of law is driven by ethical considerations, legal ethics provides the context in which the law is practiced and every jurisdiction has its own ethics code which qualified and skilled attorney must follow. The attorney’s fault evidence insufficient careful and cautious conduct. It must be compared with the standard of care of the average diligent attorney. The damage which attorney inflict, when things go wrong, covers the whole spectrum from personal injury through damage to property and economic loss. Other questions related the attorney professional civil liability – the limitation or abolition, dismissal of professional liability, is dealt under the common rules of civil liability. |
