How to sue your lawyer in Washington.

Washington applies the three-year statute of limitations in RCW 4.16.080(3) to legal malpractice. In Peters v. Simmons, 87 Wn.2d 400, 552 P.2d 1053 (1976), the Washington Supreme Court adopted the discovery rule for lawyers. In Washington, the 3-year limit for legal malpractice does not start to run until the client discovers, or in the exercise of reasonable diligence should have discovered, the facts that give rise to the claim. The court reasoned that clients have little choice but to rely on the skill and diligence of their lawyers.

Continuous representation

In Janicki Logging & Construction Co. v. Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C., 109 Wn. App. 655, 37 P.3d 306 (2001), a firm missed a deadline and then spent years appealing the dismissal. The Court of Appeals adopted the continuous representation rule. In Washington, the malpractice deadline is tolled while the lawyer continues to represent the client in the same matter from which the claim arose. The court called the rule limited: it does not apply once you hire new counsel for the appeal, and it covers only the same matter, not the whole relationship.

Washington has no separate statute of repose for legal malpractice. See the 50-state table to compare.

Washington courts, citing Hizey v. Carpenter, 119 Wn.2d 251 (1992), require the client to prove an attorney-client relationship giving rise to a duty, an act or omission breaching that duty, damage, and proximate cause. Proximate cause usually means the "trial within the trial": the fact finder decides what a reasonable jury in the underlying case would have done without the lawyer's error (Daugert v. Pappas, 104 Wn.2d 254 (1985)). See our case-within-a-case guide.

In Washington, collectibility is an affirmative defense, so the negligent lawyer bears the burden of proving a lost judgment was uncollectible. The Washington Supreme Court adopted that rule in Schmidt v. Coogan, 335 P.3d 424 (Wash. 2014).

Washington has no statute requiring an expert in every case, but breach of the standard of care is usually proved through an expert witness. In Walker v. Bangs, 92 Wn.2d 854 (1979), a malpractice case was dismissed after the client's expert was excluded; the Supreme Court reversed, holding that a lawyer licensed elsewhere is not automatically disqualified as an expert. There is no certificate of merit requirement for suits against lawyers.

Washington is strict here. In Falkner v. Foshaug, 108 Wn. App. 113 (2001), the Court of Appeals held that postconviction relief is a prerequisite to a criminal malpractice suit and that proof of innocence is an added element. In Ang v. Martin, 154 Wn.2d 477, 114 P.3d 637 (2005), the Washington Supreme Court held that even clients who were acquitted must prove actual innocence, not just legal innocence. In Washington, a criminal malpractice plaintiff must obtain postconviction relief and then prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she was actually innocent of the charges. See criminal defense malpractice and can you sue a public defender.

Fee disputes

The Washington State Bar Association does not run a fee arbitration program, and its Office of Disciplinary Counsel does not resolve fee disputes. It refers people to Resolution Washington and the state's dispute resolution centers. Washington has no statewide bar fee arbitration program, so fee disputes go to community mediation, private arbitration if your agreement requires it, or court. Check your retainer agreement for an arbitration clause, and read our guide to fee dispute arbitration.

Client Protection Fund

The WSBA Client Protection Fund makes discretionary gifts to people who lost money through a lawyer's dishonest conduct. Under Washington's Client Protection Fund regulations, the maximum gift is $250,000, and there is no limit on the number of gifts tied to one lawyer. Applications must generally be made within three years of when you discovered, or should have discovered, the loss. See how to get money back from a client protection fund.

The WSBA Office of Disciplinary Counsel reviews, investigates, and prosecutes grievances about the ethical conduct of Washington lawyers, acting under the Washington Supreme Court's authority. A grievance can lead to discipline, but it cannot award damages.

A Washington bar grievance does not compensate you for a lost case and does not pause the 3-year malpractice deadline. See malpractice lawsuit vs. bar complaint.

Washington does not require malpractice insurance, but since September 1, 2021, RPC 1.4(c) requires a lawyer without at least $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate in coverage to tell clients in writing before or at the start of the representation. See does your lawyer have malpractice insurance.

Note the date you first learned of the mistake and the date the lawyer stopped working on that matter; both matter for Washington's clock. Get your client file (how to request it) and keep every email and letter.

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 community mediation or the WSBA Client Protection Fund, 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 Washington well before the three years run out. Many take these cases on a contingency fee; see do legal malpractice lawyers work on contingency.

If you think your lawyer's mistake cost you, a free case review takes about two minutes.