Burns & Jain is pleased to announce that Boston Attorney, Neil Burns, has again been selected as a Massachusetts Superlawyer for advocating on behalf of victims of legal malpractice. The magazine, which was published on October 13, 2020, listed only four (4) Superlawyers representing plaintiffs in legal malpractice. After 35 years of practicing in personal injury and professional liability law in Massachusetts, Attorney Burns had the following to say:
I credit our clients. They are the victims. Their stories are what motivate me and the other lawyers in our firm to advocate for their rights diligently and zealously. Their losses from the failings of their initial attorney can be devastating. Further, I credit our paralegal staff who work tirelessly on our clients’ cases from intake, to evidence gathering, to resolution.
Massachusetts Superlawyers is an annual publication of Thompson Reuters. They break down the “superlawyers” into 62 categories of law. Attorney Neil Burns has been listed for many years.
When asked for insights on which areas of legal malpractice he is seeing, Attorney Burns’ response was:
While we see a lot of divorce, bankruptcy and probate legal malpractice, we have seen an increase in attorneys taking advantage of their clients sexually. This is especially upsetting. We also have many clients whose prior attorneys gave up on them and failed to resolve their cases before the statute of limitations ran. There are also gross errors in litigation and at trial. Covid poses new legal malpractice concerns.
Legal Malpractice In The Times of Covid
Covid poses new but unfortunately not different legal malpractice issues. Some lawyers, working “remotely” from home, have neglected cases, failed to respond to clients, missed filing lawsuits on time and have been disingenuous in responding to client questions. Burns & Jain published an article on the coronavirus and legal malpractice focusing on what you can do now https://www.boston-injury-lawyer-blog.com/2020/03/massachusetts-legal-malpractice-and-the-coronavirus/ which amounts to: stay on top of your case and in contact with your attorney about the plan, strategy and next steps of your case.
One of the major causes of legal negligence is neglect – the lawyer gets busy and neglects to undertake the strategy or pay attention to the Rules of Civil Procedure. It helps to keep an ongoing working relationship with your lawyer to avoid neglect. We cannot overemphasize this in the times of coronavirus. As Attorney Burns notes:
Call and email your lawyer regularly to understand how the Coronavirus has affected your case. It is likely that the court schedule has put your case out for months, if not longer. It is likely that the discovery phase of your case has been changed. But that does not excuse your attorney from communicating with you. Perhaps you have more time to develop your case; perhaps you can help more as you have less commuting time. Perhaps not. But please communicate with your lawyer!
Call Burns & Jain for a Free Legal Malpractice Consultation
Do you think you have a case against your former (or soon to be former) attorney? Call Superlawyer Neil Burns for a free consultation. Attorney Burns has 35 years of experience litigating cases in Massachusetts courts. Attorney Burns, along with his partner, Attorney Roshan Jain, have likely handled many cases like yours and have the experience to guide you towards a just result. The phone or video consultation is free. Call 617-227-7423.