We are willing to evaluate your potential case and discuss its merits and value with you. There is no charge for our preliminary evaluation and discussion, but we do need certain information from you to perform our evaluation. Once we receive the information requested below, we will contact you to discuss our evaluation. Again, there is no cost to you whatsoever for this case evaluation.
If you are interested in receiving help on your potential claim, please provide us with the information via our Evaluation Forms. We have two forms, a short form and a detailed form. The short form will initiate an attorney to contact you to discuss your case. The detailed form will allow an attorney to review your case before speaking with you thus speeding the process along. Both forms will start the process of evaluating your case.  We encourage you to fill out the detailed form if at all possible.  The detailed form directs your responses to areas that are important to our evaluation process; however, if by virtue or time constraints or other limitations, you prefer the short form, then please feel free to provide us the details of your legal malpractice concern by using the short form.
 
If you have a legal concern that is not a legal malpractice inquiry, you can access our main firm home page at ww.WagnerLaw.com.  We can provide a free evaluation of your potential negligence, wrongful  death, medical malpractice or other injury matter if you fill out our evaluation form at http://wagnerlaw.com/free.html.
 
We are also available at 813-225-4000 or 800-360-6439 if you would prefer to discuss your legal concerns with us directly.
 
We look forward to hearing from you. 

Your full name: (Required)


E-mail Address: (Required)


Mailing Address:


Home Number:


Work Number:


Best time to reach you if you prefer a response by telephone:


How would you like for us to respond to you (e.g., telephone, e-mail, regular mail, doesn't matter)?


It is impossible to prepare a form for easy completion for all of the many types of possible claims individuals may have against an attorney. This page is intended to give you a format to provide information to us to help you in potential claims against an attorney. All of the information you provide us is strictly confidential. We do not represent individuals being sued and for many many years have represented only those who have been injured by the wrongful conduct of others. We are prohibited under the ethical rules established by the Florida Supreme Court from revealing the substance of anything you communicate to us here without your prior approval. This is a completely confidential process.

Generally, to sue an attorney for legal malpractice, you must have been the client – that is, you must be the person who retained, or on whose behalf retained, the lawyer to perform some legal service for you. There are some, but very few, exceptions to this rule.

Did you or someone on your behalf hire the attorney?


If not, how are you associated with or related to the person who did (e.g. the beneficiary of a will or trust, the survivor under a wrongful death claim, etcetera)?


What type of case or legal problem did you hire an attorney to represent your interest?


When was your attorney retained and how long did he represent you?


Does he still represent you and, if not, when did his representation end?



What was the result of the attorneys representation (e.g. was the case lost, did you have to settle for a smaller amount, the Court ruled against you or dismissed the case, the will was invalid, you lost the sale of the property, etcetera)?


Please explain what happened that caused this unacceptable or unanticipated result. What did your attorney do that you believe was negligent or damaged you in some fashion? Please be as specific as possible.


Do you have the documents that relate to the lawyers work for you (letters, representation agreement, court papers, etcetera)?


Some people are worried about naming their lawyer. It is very helpful for us to now know the name of lawyer about which you are complaining and the name of his firm. We may know something helpful about the lawyer that influences the evaluation of your case. Again, this process is entirely confidential.


Unless you have some objection to doing so at this point, please tell us the name of your attorney and the name of the firm that he works for?


Were others involved in handling your case or legal problem with the lawyer (were there other lawyers, lawfirms or professionals involved in your case)?


If so, who were they and what was their role?


You only have so long to sue a lawyer, generally two years, and it is often difficult to determine when the period begins to run and when it expires. When was the lawyer negligent, when did you find out about it, and when were you damaged as a result?


Have you contacted any other lawyer about your potential claim and, if so:


Did the lawyer agree to represent you?


Are you still being represented by the lawyer?


Are you now seeking a lawyer to represent you, or are you just looking for a second opinion?


Do you owe any other lawyer a fee in this matter?


Have you negotiated with any insurance company or any other person in connection with this claim and, if so:Are negotiations still ongoing?


What was the lowest settlement amount that you asked for?


What was the highest amount that you have been offered to settle?


Are there any other questions you wish answered?


Is there any other information that you want to provide us or believe that we should know in evaluating your case and consulting with you?


Would you like to arrange a personal interview?


Are there any other instructions you wish to give us?


____________________________
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Final Instructions

INTERNET SECURITY: Sending information over the internet is not always a secure way to send information. While we will keep the information you send us over the internet CONFIDENTIAL once it is received in our office, we cannot be assured that it will be secure while being transmitted to our office. If you have any concerns about that, please print the information above and mail it to us at:

Alan Wagner
Wagner, Vaughan & McLaughlin, P.A.
601 Bayshore Boulevard
Suite 910
Tampa, Florida, 33606

THE SERVICE WE PROVIDE: When we receive the information you have provided, we will evaluate the information and then contact you by telephone or by mail at the address and phone number you have given us to tell you:

a. Our preliminary evaluation of the merits of your case
b. Whether we would be willing to represent you.

Obviously, the information you have sent us may not be sufficient to provide full answers to the above matters. If more information is needed, we will contact you to obtain the necessary additional information before we give you our evaluation of your potential claim.

We will try to be in touch with you by mail, telephone, or e-mail within a short time. We are an active law firm with many trials, however, and on occasion the requirements of providing service to our clients may cause us to delay answering you inquiry. If you do not hear from us in a reasonable time, don't hesitate to call. Under most circumstances, you should expect to hear from us within two days of our receipt of your inquiry.

OUR FEES: We charge no fee to provide the limited service described above. If you decide to employ our firm to represent you, we will provide contracts for you to read and sign. We also suggest you read the "Statement of Clients Rights" available from the FAQ Page. If we represent you we are willing to do so on a "Contingent Fee" basis, that is, you will owe us no fee for our services unless we make a recovery for you, and in the event of a recovery, your fee will be a percentage of the amount recovered, as outlined in the written contract we will provide to you.

LIMITATIONS ON OUR SERVICE:
1. The advice we provide is obviously limited by the information you provide to us. Final advice would be based upon a complete evaluation of your entire case. This cannot be accomplished with the limited information you have given us above. Often a full evaluation of a claim cannot be given without collecting considerable information, records, and other investigation. Often a decision about a claim can only be made after a personal interview.

2. Your claim may be barred by the Statutes of Limitations. These statutes provide that if a suit is not brought within a certain amount of time, the claim can never be thereafter brought. Likewise, the information you furnish may be furnished at a time so close to expiration of the statute of limitations that we do not have time to provide any help to you before the time expires. By asking for our help, you agree that we are not liable for failing to file suit on your behalf or failing to take any other action on your behalf.

3. You are not obligated to employ this firm by sending this information. Likewise, we are not obligated to accept you as a client by providing this help to you. We reserve the right to decline to represent you for any reason whatsoever. Once we have provided the limited service mentioned above, we reserve the right to refuse to become involved in further evaluation of your claim or in providing further advice. If we decline to represent you, or to provide additional advice, we will so advice you in writing at the address you have given us.

ADDITIONAL SERVICES: We are available to provide additional advice and services upon written or telephoned request unless we advice you of our decision not to do so as outlined above. Please feel free to write us at our Bayshore Office if more information is needed. It always helps to send along as much information as you have to help us help you.