This is the sequence we follow, and it is worth understanding before the first meeting because most of the work is done before anything is filed.
Not a general sense that the matter was handled badly, but the specific act or omission and the date on which it occurred: a limitation period missed, a caution not registered, an inquiry not made, a warning not given.
What a reasonable lawyer would have done in the same circumstances. This is where the case law, and in serious matters an expert opinion, does its work.
The trial within a trial. What would have happened had the lawyer acted properly, and with what probability. This determines whether the claim is for the whole of the loss or for the chance that was destroyed.
The sum lost, the expenses incurred in consequence, and where appropriate the fee paid for work that was never properly done.
Seven years from the cause of action, subject to the discovery rule. This is examined early, because it can determine whether there is a claim at all.
Whether cover exists, on what basis it responds, and whether the insurer should be approached before proceedings are issued.
A well-prepared claim is frequently resolved with the insurer without a judgment. That is not a weakness of the claim; it is usually the point of preparing it properly.
HAND MADE BY
