Under South Carolina law, an attorney is required to render services with "the degree of skill, care, knowledge, and judgment usually possessed and exercised by members of the profession."1 A plaintiff in a legal malpractice action must prove four elements: (1) the existence of an attorney-client relationship,2 (2) a breach of duty by the attorney, (3) damage to the client, and (4) proximate causation of the client's damages by the breach.3 A plaintiff's failure to prove any of these elements will render her4 cause of action insufficient.5 Chapters 2 through 6 will address each of these elements in detail.
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Notes:
[1] Johnson v. Alexander, 413 S.C. 196, 201, 775 S.E.2d 697, 700 (2015); see also Harris Teeter, Inc. v. Moore & Van Allen, PLLC, 390 S.C. 275, 282, 701 S.E.2d 742, 745 (2010); Holy Loch Distributors, Inc. v. Hitchcock, 340 S.C. 20, 26, 531 S.E.2d 282, 285 (2000); Smith v. Hastie, 367 S.C. 410, 417, 626 S.E.2d 13, 17 (Ct. App. 2005).
[2] For a discussion of the limited exceptions to this requirement, see Chapter 2.
[3] Stokes-Craven Holding Corp. v. Robinson, 416 S.C. 517, 525, 787 S.E.2d 485, 489 (2016); Johnson, 413 S.C. at 201, 775 S.E.2d at 699; Holmes v. Haynsworth, Sinkler & Boyd, P.A., 408 S.C. 620, 636, 760 S.E.2d 399, 407 (2014); Fabian v. Lindsay, 410 S.C. 475, 483, 765 S.E.2d 132, 136 (2014); RFTMgmt. Co.,...
