Helena Legal Malpractice Lawyers

Helena Legal Malpractice lawyer icon, Boland Aarab PLLP

Helena, MontanaHelena Legal Malpractice

Helena Legal Malpractice Lawyers: Attorney Negligence, Missed Deadlines and Failed Transactions in Lewis and Clark County

Boland Aarab PLLP.

If a Helena lawyer’s mistake cost you a case, an agency appeal, a real estate deal or an estate, you may have a legal malpractice claim. You must prove the lawyer fell below the standard of care and that the error caused a real loss, usually with expert testimony. The deadline is 3 years from discovery of the error, and never more than 10.

Key Takeaways

  • The elements are duty, breach, injury and proximate cause (Labair v. Carey, 2012 MT 312).
  • With limited exceptions, “only expert testimony can establish the standard of care in a legal malpractice case” (Babcock Place, 2003 MT 111).
  • Suit must be filed within 3 years of actual or reasonable discovery, and no later than 10 years after the error (§ 27-2-206, MCA).

Believe a lawyer’s mistake cost you? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.

Helena is the capital and the seat of the Montana Supreme Court, most state agencies and the First Judicial District, and much of the legal work done here is shaped by those institutions. So are the malpractice cases that come out of it.

Missed deadlines in agency cases. Because most state agencies are headquartered in Helena, a petition for judicial review of an agency decision may be filed in the district court where the agency keeps its principal office (§ 2-4-702(2)(a), MCA), which puts many of those cases in the First Judicial District in Helena. Licensing, benefits, permitting, tax and employment disputes have short, strict filing periods. A lawyer who misses one can end the client’s case entirely.

Missed limitations periods and notice requirements. Injury claims against the State require written presentation to the Department of Administration before suit (§ 2-9-301, MCA). Claims against lawyers, doctors, builders and employers each have their own shorter deadlines. A missed deadline is the most common, and most provable, kind of malpractice.

Appeals. The Montana Supreme Court sits in Helena, in the Joseph P. Mazurek Justice Building at 215 North Sanders. Appeal deadlines are short, and a failure to preserve an issue at trial can be as fatal as a late notice of appeal.

Transactions and estates. Ranch and land sales in the Helena Valley and the surrounding counties, business formations, wills and trusts are all places where a drafting error may not surface for years, which is why Montana’s 10-year outside limit matters.

Conflicts and communication failures. A lawyer who fails to relay a settlement offer, settles without authority, or represents someone whose interests conflict with yours.

A lost case is not, by itself, malpractice. The question is whether the lawyer did what a reasonably careful Montana lawyer would have done, and whether the error cost you something measurable.

  1. Protect the underlying matter first. If an appeal, a claim or a deal can still be saved, that comes before any malpractice claim.
  2. Request your complete client file in writing, including correspondence, drafts, pleadings and billing records.
  3. Write a timeline of what you were told and when. The 3-year clock can start before you are certain.
  4. Understand the difference between discipline and damages. Grievances about a lawyer’s conduct go to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which is located in Helena on South Last Chance Gulch (montanaodc.org). Discipline can suspend or disbar a lawyer, but it does not compensate you. Only a civil claim does.
  5. Get an independent review. A malpractice claim needs a lawyer and an expert who were not involved in the original matter.
  6. Know where the case goes. A malpractice case against a Helena lawyer or firm is generally filed in the First Judicial District Court, which serves Lewis and Clark and Broadwater Counties, at the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse, 228 Broadway (§ 3-5-101(1), MCA), because venue generally lies where a defendant resides (§ 25-2-122, MCA). If the original matter was a federal case, the malpractice case may involve the federal court in Helena as well.

Montana law that applies

In brief: a lawyer who fails to use reasonable care or skill in handling a client’s affairs may be liable for the resulting damages (Carlson v. Morton, 229 Mont. 234 (1987)). When the error happened in a lawsuit, the client usually must prove the “case within a case,” showing that but for the negligence the client would have succeeded in the underlying action (Lorash v. Epstein, 236 Mont. 21 (1989)). Expert testimony from an experienced Montana lawyer is almost always required. Under § 27-2-206, the 3-year period runs from when you discovered or reasonably should have discovered the error, and the 10-year limit is absolute. The statewide Montana legal malpractice lawyer page explains the elements and the case-within-a-case in more depth.

Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Helena case?

Suing a lawyer is different from other cases. The defendant knows the courthouse, the judges and often the other lawyers in town, and many clients prefer counsel from outside the community where the lawyer they are suing practices. We are based in Great Falls, we handle cases statewide, and we prepare malpractice cases as full trials, with the underlying case rebuilt from the ground up. Our attorneys travel to Helena for depositions, hearings and trial. We do not have a Helena office.

The Boland Aarab Way

  • We know appellate court. The Boland Aarab appellate record reaches back to 1977, and the Montana Supreme Court reinstated our client’s $168,500 jury verdict in Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137. Samir Aarab has argued twice before the Ninth Circuit.
  • We try cases. Our firm has tried more than a dozen jury trials, in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties, and our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
  • We know federal court. Our attorneys have handled more than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana.
  • You work with the lawyers. Caitlin Boland Aarab and Samir Aarab handle your case themselves.

We also handle appeals in Helena, insurance bad faith cases in Helena and other Helena cases.

Frequently Asked Questions

My Helena lawyer missed the deadline to appeal an agency decision. Do I have a claim? Possibly. You would need to show the missed deadline fell below the standard of care and that the appeal would likely have produced a better result.

Is filing a grievance with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel enough? No. The Helena-based Office of Disciplinary Counsel handles lawyer discipline. It does not award damages; a malpractice lawsuit does.

Where would a malpractice case against a Helena law firm be filed? Generally in the First Judicial District Court at the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse, where the firm is located.

Do I need an expert to sue a Helena lawyer? Almost always. With limited exceptions, only expert testimony can establish the standard of care (Babcock Place, 2003 MT 111).

How long do I have to sue a lawyer in Montana? 3 years from when you discovered or should have discovered the error, but never more than 10 years from the error itself (§ 27-2-206, MCA).

Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.

Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab

Sources: § 27-2-206, MCA · § 2-4-702 · § 2-9-301 · § 25-2-122 · § 3-5-101, MCA · Labair v. Carey, 2012 MT 312 · Babcock Place, 2003 MT 111 · Lorash v. Epstein (1989) · Carlson v. Morton (1987) · Office of Disciplinary Counsel · Montana Supreme Court Clerk

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.