Q: Need assistance with legal malpractice claim against former attorney in SAPCR case
I would like assistance pursuing a legal malpractice claim against my former attorney, Trey Lavespere, and his assistant, Brandye Toombs. They handled a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship (SAPCR) regarding my grandson, Kentrell Rogelio Martinez, which resulted in my dismissal due to lack of standing. I suspect malpractice due to incorrect cause numbers on documents, misleading statements in their Motion for Withdrawal of Counsel filed very late (February 28, 2025, at 11:22 PM), and lack of preparedness evidenced by late filings and missing documents/exhibits. No complaint has been filed with any legal or professional board. Their actions caused financial harm due to additional legal expenses and emotional distress related to my grandson's custody and well-being. The late filing of the withdrawal motion left me without adequate representation during crucial hearings, impacting my ability to present my case effectively. What damages could I potentially seek for the harm caused by their actions, and what are the next steps in pursuing a malpractice claim?
A:
You need to locate an attorney who practices in the area of legal malpractice in or near the county where the lawsuit was pending. Ideally, such an attorney should also have experience in family law given the nature of the underlying litigation.
You need to gather together a complete copy of every written communication between you and your previous attorneys and arrange them in chronological order. Any attorney will want to see those communications to determine if the previous lawyers' conduct fell below the standard of case.
You will probably also want to bring with you to your initial consultation the evidence provided to your previous attorneys showing your standing. You will want evidence showing that you are the biological grandparent of the child, how long the child lived with you before filing your custody suit, and that both of the child's parents are: 1) dead, 2) were adjudged mentally incompetent, 3) incarcerated, 4) have had their parental rights terminated, or 5) the appointment of a parent would "significantly impair the child's physical health or emotional development." Item 5 usually requires significant and substantial evidence of prior neglect and/or abuse by the parents typically with a long list of CPS reports and investigations initiated by multiple reporting sources.
Because the court dismissed your custody suit for lack of standing, what evidence you provided to your previous attorneys showing your standing will be absolutely critical. Incorrect cause numbers and misleading statements in a motion to withdraw do not appear to be what led to the dismissal of your case. Lack of standing appears to be the "cause" of you losing your custody case. If you did not clearly have standing, it is likely that any errors or omissions made by your previous attorneys did not proximately cause you to lose the previous and, therefore, will not support a recovery for legal malpractice.
Be aware that this type of legal malpractice case likely will not be accepted by an experienced attorney on a traditional contingency fee because the underlying lawsuit involves a custody dispute and not a civil lawsuit to recover a sum of money. An experienced attorney will want evidence that you timely paid your previous attorneys and that your previous attorneys did not withdraw because of lack of payment to ensure that you are committed to funding your legal malpractice lawsuit as well.
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