In Connecticut, like most jurisdictions, the time in which to bring a legal malpractice action is often unfairly short. Connecticut’s 3 year statute of limitations means that ordinarily, the victim of legal malpractice has only three years from their lawyer’s negligent act or omission in which to file a legal malpractice action. The unfairness comes from the fact that unlike other legal torts, victims of legal malpractice often do not realize a mistake has been made by their lawyer until years, and sometimes decades, later. Your time to file a legal malpractice lawsuit might very well expire before you even know your lawyer did something wrong. Unlike a car accident, where you know immediately that you were injured due to someone else’s legal wrong, victims of legal malpractice rely upon the professional expertise of their lawyers, and only figure out that they have a problem when they either hire another attorney, or later suffer the tragic economic results of the legal malpractice. Under certain circumstances, statute of limitations can be tolled or suspended in legal malpractice cases in Connecticut, but only so long as the lawyer who committed the legal malpractice is still representing you, and never longer than it took you to realize that the malpractice occurred. If you suspect that your lawyer has committed legal malpractice, you need to act fast to protect your rights.
