The results of the 2016 Super Lawyer awards have been announced and Attorney Neil Burns was proud, once again, to be selected. Attorney Burns claims that “While the award is a result of much hard work it is mostly inspired by deserving clients who have suffered greatly.” The distinction is especially important because there are only five (5) lawyers in all of Massachusetts who were awarded as a Super Lawyer in the category of Professional Liability: Plaintiff.
Legal Malpractice is a field that most attorneys avoid. Why? Perhaps because it is hard to file claims and lawsuits against fellow attorneys. As such, Attorney Burns’ office rejects the vast majority of prospective clients. Nevertheless, the cases that the Law Office of Neil Burns accepts are cases in which the facts and law show that the clients have been greatly wronged by their prior lawyers; sometimes by multiple lawyers. The facts and the law clearly point to professional negligence by the attorney in those few selected cases.
Massachusetts Super Lawyer Designation
Each year, no more than 5% of the lawyers in Massachusetts are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor. Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive, and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.
What is Legal Malpractice in Massachusetts?
Attorney malpractice is when a Massachusetts lawyer breaches his or her duty to the client in the performance of legal work for the client in Massachusetts. The duty owed is the minimum standard of professional care. The cases Attorney Burns and his office accept range from simple breach of duty cases, such as failing to file a lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires, to complicated litigation matters, breach of fiduciary duty cases and neglectful trial practices. Sometimes a competent attorney becomes neglectful in the middle of a case and important rights were lost. Sometimes an attorney will mislead a client into thinking the case is “pending” when, in fact, it was lost because of malpractice. In such cases, we ask that the Court find a violation of the Consumer Protection Act, Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 93A, and ask for multiple damages and attorney fees.
Note that many legal malpractice cases result in a settlement. In legal malpractice cases, those settlements generally involve a “confidentiality agreement” which protects the defendant lawyer from public embarrassment. As such, while you may find many lawsuits we have filed, we cannot publish the results of the case if the matter is settled out of court prior to judgment and a confidentiality agreement was entered into.
Legal Malpractice Attorney Neil Burns of Boston
Neil Burns is the founder of the Law Office of Neil Burns, a personal injury and legal malpractice law firm based in Boston, Massachusetts and located at Six Beacon Street since 1987. With over 31 years of trial experience, he concentrates primarily in the litigation of personal injury, including wrongful death, and legal malpractice.
For a free consultation, contact Legal Malpractice Super Lawyer Neil Burns at 617-227-7423. You can also send a confidential message about your case through the website of www.neilburnslaw.com.