Legal Malpractice Attorney in Atlanta, Georgia
Legal malpractice is what happens when the attorney you trusted to protect your interests fails you — through negligence, incompetence, or intentional misconduct — and that failure costs you something real. A missed deadline that kills your case. A settlement you never agreed to. A lawyer who disappeared in the middle of your trial. A fraud that drained your trust account.
I’m Jacob Rhein. I am a legal malpractice attorney based in Atlanta, and this is the only type of case I handle. If your lawyer failed you, I want to hear what happened.
What Is Legal Malpractice in Georgia?
Under Georgia law, a legal malpractice claim requires proof of four elements:
- Duty — The attorney owed you a professional duty, established by an attorney-client relationship.
- Breach — The attorney breached that duty by failing to meet the standard of care a competent Georgia attorney would provide.
- Causation — The breach caused your harm. In most cases this means proving the “case within a case” — that your underlying matter would have succeeded but for the attorney’s failure.
- Damages — You suffered actual, measurable harm as a result.
Types of Legal Malpractice I Handle
- Missed Statute of Limitations — Your attorney let the filing deadline expire, permanently destroying your right to sue.
- Unauthorized Settlement — Your attorney settled your case without your knowledge or consent.
- Attorney Abandonment — Your lawyer went silent, withdrew without notice, or left your case in ruins.
- Fraud & Misrepresentation — Your attorney lied about case status, stole settlement funds, or deliberately deceived you.
- Professional Negligence — Errors in strategy, research, drafting, or courtroom conduct that damaged your case.
- Failure to Supervise Staff — A supervising attorney allowed paralegal or associate errors to harm your case.
- Withholding Client Files — Your attorney is improperly holding your file.
- Attorney Lien Disputes — Disputes over improper or excessive fee liens.
- Ineffective Assistance of Counsel — Criminal defense failures that rise to the level of civil malpractice.
- Appeals & Post-Judgment Motions — Missed appeal deadlines or botched post-trial motions.
- Expert Affidavits — Guidance on the affidavit of expert required to file a legal malpractice claim in Georgia.
The Statute of Limitations
Georgia’s statute of limitations for legal malpractice is generally four years under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-25. Do not wait. Evidence disappears, witnesses become unavailable, and certain circumstances can shorten this window. Contact me as soon as you suspect something went wrong.
Why Hire Me
Legal malpractice is not a sideline for me — it is the only work I do. That means every strategy I develop, every expert I retain, and every deposition I take is informed by years of exclusive focus on exactly this type of case. I work directly with every client. You will never be handed to a paralegal or passed to a junior attorney.
Most cases are handled on a contingency fee basis. Your initial consultation is free and confidential.