How to sue your lawyer in Maine.

Two statutes work together. Maine's general statute of limitations, 14 M.R.S. § 752, says civil actions must be brought within six years after the cause of action accrues. Then 14 M.R.S. § 753-B sets a special accrual rule for claims against lawyers. For malpractice, professional negligence, or breach of contract for legal services, the limitations period "starts to run from the date of the act or omission giving rise to the injury, not from the discovery" of the malpractice.

In Maine, a legal malpractice suit must be filed within six years of the lawyer's act or omission, whether or not you knew about the mistake.

The two discovery exceptions

Section 753-B carves out two situations where a discovery rule applies instead:

• Real estate title opinions. The clock starts when the negligence is discovered, but no suit may be brought more than 20 years after the act or omission. That 20-year cap works as a statute of repose.
• Wills. For negligent drafting of a will that has been offered for probate, the clock starts when the negligence is discovered.

See our estate planning malpractice and real estate attorney malpractice pages if either applies to you.

Fraudulent concealment

Section 753-B also preserves suspensions provided by other laws. One is 14 M.R.S. § 859: if the person liable fraudulently conceals the cause of action, the suit may be brought within six years after you discover it. If a Maine lawyer fraudulently concealed the malpractice, you get six years from when you discover the claim. Proving concealment is its own fight, so do not count on it if you can avoid it.

Continuous representation

We did not find a Maine Law Court decision adopting the continuous representation rule for legal malpractice. The statute's text, which ties accrual to the act or omission, cuts against it. Treat the question as unsettled and assume the clock is running while the lawyer still represents you.

Maine treats legal malpractice as professional negligence. In Niehoff v. Shankman & Associates Legal Center, P.A., 2000 ME 214, 763 A.2d 121, the Law Court described the claim as requiring proof that the lawyer breached a duty owed to the client to conform to a certain standard of conduct, and that the breach proximately caused the client's loss.

In practice that means proving four things: an attorney-client relationship, a breach of the standard of care, proximate cause, and damages. Causation usually means proving the case within a case: that you would have done better in the underlying matter if the lawyer had done the job right.

Experts are required

In Brooks v. Lemieux, 2017 ME 55, 157 A.3d 798, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court upheld summary judgment for the lawyer because the client's expert witness offered only conclusory opinions. In Maine, a legal malpractice plaintiff generally needs expert testimony, grounded in specific facts, to prove both the breach and that it caused the loss. An expert who simply says the lawyer fell below the standard and the client would have won is not enough. Read more in our expert witness guide.

Maine does not require a certificate of merit when you file a suit against a lawyer.

In Brewer v. Hagemann, 2001 ME 27, 771 A.2d 1030, a former criminal defendant sued his trial lawyer. He had already lost a post-conviction petition claiming ineffective assistance, where the court found the lawyer's performance deficient but not prejudicial. The Law Court held he was collaterally estopped from relitigating prejudice in his malpractice case. In Maine, a former criminal defendant who loses a post-conviction ineffective assistance claim on prejudice is generally barred from relitigating causation in a malpractice suit. The court discussed, without needing to adopt, the rules other states use requiring exoneration or actual innocence. See criminal defense malpractice.

Maine's fee arbitration program is run by the Fee Arbitration Commission of the Board of Overseers of the Bar. It is free: the Board charges no fees to file or hear a dispute. The catch is that the petitioner must agree to be bound by the panel's decision and give up the right to sue in court over the disputed fee. You must also certify that you tried in good faith to resolve the dispute first and that it is not already in litigation. See our fee arbitration guide.

If a lawyer stole from you, the client protection fund is the Maine Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection, created by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in 1997. The Maine Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection pays up to $50,000 per claim and $200,000 per lawyer for losses caused by a lawyer's dishonest conduct. It does not pay interest or out-of-pocket expenses, and it does not cover malpractice. Bar Counsel investigates each claim and seven trustees decide it. Learn more in how to get money back from a client protection fund.

Maine lawyer discipline runs through the Board of Overseers of the Bar. A bar grievance must be in writing and signed. The Central Intake Office screens it, Bar Counsel investigates, and a panel of the Grievance Commission (two lawyers and one lay member) reviews it. The Board says the initial phase usually takes 90 to 120 days. Filing is free.

The Board is direct about the limits: the grievance procedure will not recover any money for you, it is not an appeal, and it will not reopen your case. It also does not pause a malpractice suit. A Maine grievance can lead to a warning, reprimand, suspension, or disbarment, but it will not recover any money for you. Compare the two paths in legal malpractice vs. a bar complaint.

Maine does not require lawyers to carry malpractice insurance, but the Maine Bar Rules require lawyers in private practice to certify each year whether they are covered and to notify the Board if coverage lapses.

1. Find the date of the lawyer's act or omission and count six years from it.
2. Request your complete client file in writing. See how to get your case file.
3. Decide whether your issue is a fee dispute, theft, misconduct, or a lost case. Each has its own path.
4. Expect to need an expert, and talk to a malpractice lawyer well before the deadline.

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 Maine who handles legal malpractice claims.