Most jurisdictions require expert testimony from a qualified attorney to establish the professional standard of care and its breach, except where the negligence is within lay understanding.
Causation may also require expert testimony on the underlying case's likely outcome.
Alternative Names:
Legal Malpractice Expert, Standard of Care Expert (Legal)
Why it Matters?
The common knowledge exception is narrow and covers obvious failures such as missing a limitations deadline, which is why those claims proceed without an expert. Everything requiring judgment about strategy, research adequacy, or transaction structuring needs one. The expert's qualifications matter, since testimony about litigation strategy from a transactional practitioner invites a challenge that can leave the plaintiff without required proof.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
When is expert testimony unnecessary?
Why do expert qualifications matter?
