How to Sue Your Patent Attorney

You can sue your patent attorney by filing a complaint and a summons with the court

If you have employed a patent attorney, and that patent attorney breached his or her duty to you, you can sue them for malpractice. To begin the process of suing your patent attorney, you need to find an attorney who specializes in malpractice claims. Malpractice is a civil claim for relief intended to remedy a wrong done by a professional, your patent attorney, to a client or group of clients. Your attorney will guide you through the steps of filing your lawsuit.

Things You'll Need

• Complaint
• Summons

Instructions

1. Go to the client interview. Meet with your attorney for the initial client interview. During this interview, the attorney will figure out the strategy he or she will use to sue your patent attorney. At this interview, you need to tell the full story of the wrong the patent attorney has done to you. Your attorney will listen to find the elements of malpractice: duty, breach, causation and damages.

   The patent attorney owed a duty to you to exercise the skill and knowledge of ordinary patent attorneys in the patent law community. The patent law attorney must have breached that duty. The patent attorney's breach of that duty must have caused injury to you. The injury to you must have caused you monetary damages.

2. Compose the complaint. Your attorney will weave your story into a legal complaint, including the malpractice elements of duty, breach, causation and damages. Your attorney ends the complaint by asking for the relief you are seeking from the court.

3. Prepare the summons. The summons informs the patent attorney that he or she has been sued by you.

4. File the complaint and the summons in the court serving your jurisdiction. Your attorney will file these documents with the clerk of the court. Filing requires a filing fee that varies by case.

5. Arrange for service of process. Serve the complaint and the summons on the patent attorney. Your attorney may use a professional process server or arrange for the sheriff's department to serve the patent attorney.

Tips & Warnings

• You may want to interview more than one attorney to find one who will be the best fit.

References

• Milwaukee County: Civil Lawsuits
• Margolis Edelstein: Legal Malpractice Law in Pennsylvania