One of the most common questions I receive from people who have been harmed by an attorney’s negligence is: “How long do I have to file a lawsuit?” It’s a critical question — and the answer is more nuanced than most people expect.
The General Rule: Four Years
In Georgia, the statute of limitations for legal malpractice is four years under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-25, which governs actions based on “injuries to personalty.” This is longer than many states, which use a two or three-year period. But four years does not mean you have unlimited time, and it does not mean the clock starts when you discover the problem.
When Does the Clock Start?
Georgia follows the “accrual” rule — the statute of limitations generally begins to run when the malpractice occurs, not when you discover it. This is different from the “discovery rule” used in many states. In Georgia, if your attorney missed a filing deadline in June 2021, your four-year limitations period on the malpractice claim likely began in June 2021 — not when you learned about it months or years later.
There are important exceptions. Under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-96, if the attorney fraudulently concealed the malpractice, the limitations period may be tolled until you discovered (or should have discovered) the fraud. And the “continuous representation” doctrine may also affect when the clock begins in some circumstances.
Why You Should Not Wait
Even with a four-year window, waiting is dangerous. Evidence disappears. Witnesses become unavailable. The attorney who harmed you may no longer have malpractice insurance in force if you wait long enough. And building a legal malpractice case — which requires expert testimony, detailed reconstruction of the underlying case, and complex causation analysis — takes significant time.
If you think something went wrong with how your attorney handled your case, contact me for a free consultation. The sooner we evaluate the situation, the better your options.