How to sue your lawyer in Massachusetts.

The statute of limitations is M.G.L. c. 260, § 4, which covers "actions of contract or tort for malpractice, error or mistake against attorneys." They "shall be commenced only within three years next after the cause of action accrues."

When the clock starts

Massachusetts applies a discovery rule. In Murphy v. Smith, 411 Mass. 133 (1991), the Supreme Judicial Court said a malpractice claim accrues on the "necessary coalescence of discovery and appreciable harm." In Lyons v. Nutt, 436 Mass. 244 (2002), the court added that "a client need not know that his lawyer was negligent for the cause of action to accrue." Knowing you were hurt by the lawyer's conduct is enough.

In Massachusetts, a legal malpractice suit must be filed within three years of when you knew or reasonably should have known that you suffered appreciable harm caused by your lawyer's conduct.

Continuing representation, with a limit

In Murphy, the court adopted the continuous representation doctrine (Massachusetts calls it "continuing representation"). It tolled the limitations period while the lawyer kept representing the clients on the same matter. In Lyons, the court drew a line: the doctrine does not apply where the client actually knows he has suffered appreciable harm from the lawyer's conduct, because that client is no longer innocently relying on the lawyer. The Massachusetts continuing representation doctrine pauses the malpractice clock only for clients who do not actually know they have been harmed.

An example: bad title work

Murphy involved a lawyer who certified good record title to real estate. The court traced the discovery rule back to Hendrickson v. Sears, 365 Mass. 83 (1974), which held that a claim against an attorney for negligently certifying title accrues when the misrepresentation "is discovered or should reasonably have been discovered, whichever first occurs." That matters for buyers who learn of a title defect years after closing. If this is your situation, see our real estate attorney malpractice page. Title claims are a classic case where the harm stays hidden until someone challenges the title.

We found no statute of repose for legal malpractice in Massachusetts, so the three years run from accrual as the courts define it.

A Massachusetts malpractice claim requires an attorney-client relationship, a breach of the standard of care, causation, and damages. Causation usually means the case within a case: showing you would have gotten a better result if the lawyer had done the job properly.

Expert testimony

In Pongonis v. Saab, 396 Mass. 1005 (1985), the Supreme Judicial Court held that "expert testimony is generally necessary to establish that the attorney failed to meet the standard of care owed by an attorney in a particular case." The exception is malpractice "so gross or obvious" that jurors can recognize it from common knowledge. In Massachusetts, you generally need an expert witness to prove a lawyer's negligence, unless the error is so obvious that a layperson could recognize it. The client in Pongonis lost because he had no expert witness.

Massachusetts has no certificate of merit requirement for suits against lawyers that we found. More in our expert witness guide and case within a case explainer.

Massachusetts is strict. In Glenn v. Aiken, 409 Mass. 699 (1991), the Supreme Judicial Court held that a former criminal defendant must prove by a preponderance of the evidence "not only that the negligence of the attorney defendant caused [the plaintiff] harm, but also that [the plaintiff] is innocent of the crime charged." In Correia v. Fagan, 452 Mass. 120 (2008), the court confirmed that this means actual innocence, not legal innocence, and that an acquittal alone does not prove it. In Massachusetts, a former criminal defendant suing a defense lawyer must prove actual innocence of the crime charged, and an acquittal alone is not enough. Glenn noted that other courts do not require innocence when the malpractice concerns sentencing. See criminal defense malpractice.

The Office of Bar Counsel says a fee dispute "can be resolved by a bar association fee arbitration board." Statewide, that is the Massachusetts Bar Association Fee Arbitration Board. Fee arbitration is usually faster and cheaper than suing over a bill. See our fee arbitration guide.

If a lawyer stole from you, turn to the Clients' Security Board, the Massachusetts client protection fund. Under SJC Rule 4:04, the fund pays for actual losses caused by the theft of client funds or property by lawyers acting as attorneys or fiduciaries, to the extent not otherwise reimbursed. The Board says it has "no caps on reimbursements to an individual claimant." The Massachusetts Clients' Security Board reimburses clients whose lawyers stole from them, with no cap per individual claimant, at no cost to the claimant. Lawyers who help claimants must do so without pay. It does not cover negligence. See how the client protection fund works.

Complaints go first to the Attorney and Consumer Assistance Program (ACAP) of the Office of Bar Counsel, at (617) 728-8750 or by written complaint to 1 Beacon Street, Boston. ACAP may try to resolve the problem by calling the lawyer. Serious matters go to a full investigation, and sanctions range from private admonition to public reprimand, suspension, and disbarment.

A bar grievance has real limits. The Board of Bar Overseers says it "does not have the power, for example, to compel an attorney to refund money or return files." It can only discipline. Investigations take from a month to a year or longer. A Massachusetts bar complaint cannot get your money back, so a civil suit is the only way to recover malpractice damages. See legal malpractice vs. a bar complaint.

Massachusetts does not require malpractice insurance, but SJC Rule 4:02(2A) requires every lawyer to certify each year whether they carry it, with carrier and policy details, and says the information will be made available to the public.

1. Pin down the date you first knew the lawyer's conduct hurt you. Count three years from there.
2. Request your complete client file in writing. See how to get your case file.
3. Check the lawyer's insurance status through the Board of Bar Overseers.
4. Plan on an expert, and talk to a malpractice lawyer before the deadline gets close.

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 Massachusetts who handles legal malpractice claims.