How to sue your lawyer in Louisiana.

Louisiana's legal malpractice deadline is set by La. R.S. 9:5605. It covers any claim against a Louisiana lawyer or law firm "arising out of an engagement to provide legal services," whether you call it negligence, breach of contract, or something else. Subsection C says this statute governs the deadline exclusively.

In Louisiana, a legal malpractice suit must be filed within one year from the lawyer's act, omission, or neglect, or within one year from when it was or should have been discovered, and in all events within three years from the act.

Why "peremptive" matters

Most states use a statute of limitations, which courts can sometimes pause (tolling). Louisiana's malpractice periods are different. Subsection B declares the one-year and three-year periods to be peremptive under Civil Code Article 3458, and says they "may not be renounced, interrupted, or suspended." A peremptive period does not just bar the remedy; it extinguishes the right itself.

In Reeder v. North, 701 So. 2d 1291 (La. 1997), the Louisiana Supreme Court applied that wording strictly. The client's suit was filed more than three years after the lawyer's alleged mistake, and the court held it was perempted even though the lawyer kept representing the client through the appeals. The court rejected the continuous representation rule for these claims, and made clear the three-year period runs from the act itself, not from when the loss became final.

The discovery rule, with a hard ceiling

The statute has its own discovery rule: if you could not reasonably have known about the mistake, you get one year from discovery. But that discovery year cannot push past the three-year outer limit. So a mistake you discover two and a half years after it happened leaves you only six months.

The fraud exception

Subsection E says the peremptive period "shall not apply in cases of fraud," as defined in Civil Code Article 1953. In Lomont v. Myer-Bennett, No. 2014-C-2483 (La. June 30, 2015), the Louisiana Supreme Court held that a lawyer's fraudulent concealment of malpractice after the fact can count as fraud, and that silence in violation of the duty to keep a client informed can qualify. If you believe your lawyer covered up the mistake, tell the attorney reviewing your case right away, because this exception can keep an otherwise dead claim alive.

Louisiana courts use a three-part test drawn from Costello v. Hardy, 03-1146 (La. 1/21/04), 864 So. 2d 129. To win a Louisiana legal malpractice case you must prove an attorney-client relationship, negligent representation by the attorney, and loss caused by that negligence. The Second Circuit applied that test in Jenkins v. Washington & Wells, L.L.C., 46,825 (La. App. 2 Cir. 1/25/12), a case about a writ application filed one day late, and noted that missing any one element is fatal.

Louisiana's twist on the case within a case

Most states require you to prove the case within a case: that you would have won the underlying matter but for the lawyer. Louisiana softened this in Jenkins v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 422 So. 2d 1109 (La. 1982). Once a client shows the lawyer's impropriety caused some loss, the burden shifts to the lawyer to show the client could not have succeeded anyway. The Louisiana Supreme Court has since stressed, in MB Industries, LLC v. CNA Ins. Co., 74 So. 3d 1173 (La. 2011), that you still must show some causal connection between the negligence and the bad outcome.

The standard of care and experts

In Ramp v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 263 La. 774, 269 So. 2d 239 (1972), the Louisiana Supreme Court described the standard of care as the care, skill, and diligence exercised by prudent practicing attorneys in the lawyer's locality. Proving that usually takes an expert witness, though a blown filing deadline can be clear enough on its own. Louisiana has no certificate of merit requirement for suits against lawyers. More on experts in our expert witness guide.

Collectibility is back

In Ewing v. Westport Insurance Corp., 315 So. 3d 175 (La. 2020), the Louisiana Supreme Court held that collectibility of the lost judgment was not relevant. The Legislature responded with La. R.S. 9:5605.2, effective July 1, 2022. For Louisiana malpractice claims governed by La. R.S. 9:5605.2, damages are limited to the most the client could actually have collected in the underlying case, and the lawyer must prove that amount.

Many states will not let a convicted client sue a defense lawyer unless the conviction has been overturned or the client proves actual innocence. We did not find a Louisiana Supreme Court decision adopting or rejecting that rule, so treat it as unsettled. What is settled is the timing problem: the three-year peremptive clock runs from the lawyer's act, and it does not wait for post-conviction proceedings. Louisiana generally gives two years after a conviction becomes final to seek post-conviction relief, including on grounds of ineffective assistance. Read ineffective assistance vs. legal malpractice and our criminal defense malpractice page.

Not every complaint about a lawyer is a malpractice suit. If you think you were overbilled, the Louisiana State Bar Association runs a fee arbitration program, the Lawyer Fee Dispute Resolution Program. It is voluntary: both you and the lawyer must agree to participate and agree on the amount in dispute, and each side pays a small filing fee. Volunteer lawyers serve as arbitrators. The bar says it may decline complex disputes, multi-party matters, and cases with pending litigation. See our fee arbitration guide.

If a lawyer took your money, the client protection fund in Louisiana is the LSBA Client Assistance Fund. The Louisiana Client Assistance Fund can reimburse up to $50,000 for money or property a lawyer dishonestly took. It covers dishonesty, not incompetence, and it does not pay interest or consequential damages. Fees are reimbursed only when the lawyer did no work. Close relatives and business partners of the lawyer are not eligible. The bar recommends filing a disciplinary complaint first. See how the client protection fund works.

Lawyer discipline in Louisiana runs through the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board and its Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC), under the Louisiana Supreme Court. You file a written complaint form with ODC in Baton Rouge. ODC screens every complaint for jurisdiction and decides whether to open a full investigation.

A bar grievance can lead to reprimand, suspension, or disbarment, but it does not award you damages. It also does not stop the malpractice clock. Filing a Louisiana bar complaint does not pause the one-year or three-year peremptive period for a malpractice suit. If you want money back for a mistake, you need a lawsuit or a settlement. Compare the two in legal malpractice vs. a bar complaint.

Louisiana does not require lawyers to carry malpractice insurance, and we found no rule requiring them to tell you whether they do. That can affect whether a judgment is worth pursuing.

1. Write down the date of the mistake itself. In Louisiana, that date matters more than any other.
2. Request your complete client file in writing. See how to get your case file.
3. Note anything suggesting the lawyer hid the problem, such as false status reports. That may support the fraud exception.
4. Talk to a malpractice lawyer before the one-year mark, not after.

If you think your lawyer's mistake cost you, a free case review takes about two minutes and can connect you with an independent attorney in Louisiana who handles legal malpractice claims.