How to sue your lawyer in Utah.

Utah does not have a statute written just for lawyer malpractice. Courts apply the four-year catch-all statute of limitations in Utah Code § 78B-2-307(3). The Utah Supreme Court said so directly in Jensen v. Young, 2010 UT 67, 245 P.3d 731: "The limitations period for a legal malpractice claim is four years."

In Utah, a legal malpractice claim must be filed within 4 years after it accrues, and it accrues when the client suffers actual harm from the lawyer's mistake. In Moshier v. Fisher, 2019 UT 46, 449 P.3d 145, a lawyer missed a filing deadline in a bankruptcy case. The court held that the malpractice claim did not accrue until the bankruptcy court confirmed the final plan, because that was when the clients' loss became final, and it reversed the dismissal of their suit as late. Where an ongoing proceeding affects whether you were harmed, the claim generally does not accrue until that proceeding ends.

The discovery rule and concealment

Utah uses a limited version of the discovery rule. Under Russell Packard Development, Inc. v. Carson, 2005 UT 14, the clock can be paused when the defendant concealed the claim or misled the plaintiff, or in exceptional circumstances. In First Interstate Financial LLC v. Savage, 2020 UT App 1, 458 P.3d 1161, the Court of Appeals allowed clients to argue that their lawyer's misleading statements about his own errors excused their delay. Simply not knowing the law does not stop the clock.

Continuous representation and repose

We did not find a Utah appellate decision adopting the continuous representation rule for lawyers, so treat it as unsettled. Utah has no separate statute of repose for legal malpractice. See the 50-state deadline table for comparison.

Utah courts list five elements for a negligence-based malpractice claim: (1) an attorney-client relationship, (2) a duty arising from that relationship, (3) a breach of that duty, (4) a causal connection between the breach and the client's injury, and (5) actual damages. The Utah Supreme Court repeated that list in Moshier and in Thomas v. Hillyard, 2019 UT 29.

Causation usually means proving the case within a case: that the underlying matter would have come out better without the error. Our case-within-a-case guide explains how that works, and what a malpractice case can be worth covers damages.

In Preston & Chambers, P.C. v. Koller, 943 P.2d 260 (Utah Ct. App. 1997), the Court of Appeals held that expert testimony was needed to establish the standard of care and its breach where the alleged errors were not common knowledge. In practice, plan on an expert witness unless the mistake is something any lay person would recognize. Utah does not require a certificate of merit to file a legal malpractice case.

Utah is one of the more open states for these claims. In Utah, a former criminal defendant does not have to be exonerated or prove actual innocence before suing a defense lawyer for malpractice. The Utah Supreme Court rejected both rules in Thomas v. Hillyard, 2019 UT 29, 445 P.3d 521, and reaffirmed that in Paxman v. King, 2019 UT 37, 448 P.3d 1199. The client still has to prove the lawyer's error caused real harm.

Thomas also set the timing rule: a criminal malpractice claim does not accrue until the criminal case has concluded and no appeal of right remains, and the deadline is tolled while a claim under the Post-Conviction Remedies Act is pending. See our page on criminal defense malpractice.

Fee Dispute Resolution Program

The Utah State Bar's Fee Dispute Resolution Program offers mediation and arbitration for fights over a lawyer's bill. Participation is voluntary, so the Bar cannot force a lawyer or client into binding fee arbitration. If both sides agree to binding arbitration in Utah's program, the filing fee is $10. Disputes under $10,000 are usually heard by a single lawyer. Read our guide to fee dispute arbitration.

Fund for Client Protection

The Bar's Fund for Client Protection reimburses losses caused by a lawyer's dishonest conduct, such as stolen settlement money or trust funds. You must file within one year after the final order of discipline, the lawyer's death, or an order of disability. Under Rule 4-913 of the Supreme Court Rules of Professional Practice, the Bar's board sets the cap: the rule's starting limits are $10,000 per claim and $25,000 per lawyer per year, with a $425,000 lifetime limit per lawyer, and the rule's notes record later board increases. Ask the Bar for the current figure. See how to get money back from a client protection fund.

Complaints about Utah lawyers go to the Utah State Bar's Office of Professional Conduct. A bar grievance can lead to discipline ranging from an admonition to disbarment, and a disciplinary order is often the trigger for a Fund for Client Protection claim.

A Utah bar complaint cannot award you money for a lost case; only a civil lawsuit or settlement can. A grievance and a malpractice suit can run side by side, and the discipline process does not pause your four-year deadline. Our comparison of malpractice lawsuits and bar complaints explains when each makes sense.

Utah does not require lawyers to carry malpractice insurance, and we did not verify any rule requiring them to tell clients whether they have it. Ask directly; see does your lawyer have malpractice insurance.

Pin down when you were actually harmed, since that date usually starts Utah's four-year clock. Ask for your client file in writing (here is how), keep every email and letter, and write a timeline. If the issue is only the size of the bill, try the fee program first.

1. Write a one-page timeline: when you hired the lawyer, what went wrong, when you learned of it, and when the lawyer stopped working on the matter.
2. Collect the engagement letter, bills, emails, texts, and court papers. Do not rely on the lawyer to keep them for you.
3. Separate money problems from outcome problems. A dispute over the bill or missing funds may belong with the Fee Dispute Resolution Program or the Fund for Client Protection, not in a lawsuit.
4. Estimate what the mistake actually cost you. A malpractice case has to prove real, measurable loss, and it must be worth the cost of experts.
5. Talk to an independent attorney who handles legal malpractice claims in Utah well before the four years run out. Many take these cases on a contingency fee; see do legal malpractice lawyers work on contingency.

Four years sounds like a lot, but evidence fades and accrual fights are common. If you think your lawyer's mistake cost you, a free case review takes about two minutes.