MAKING MISTAKES AS A YOUNG LAWYER (INDEED A LAWYER OF ANY AGE): LEARNING HOW TO CRASH LAND

March 23, 2021 · by gexall · in Avoiding negligence claims, Members Content, Well being

There have been reports today of an overturning of an SRA decision, with remission back to the SDT, of a case of a young solicitor who made the mistake of leaving documents on a train. The real issue came with failing to be candid about the mistake that had been made. The case is to be reheard and...

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Tags: Avoiding negligence, Mistakes

2 Responses

Barry Gale · March 23, 2021 at 18:03:07 · →

I would suggest that mistakes should wherever possible be dealt with by the person who made them. Because it is important to admit to and learn from your own mistakes – not only learn what was done wrong but also learn how to put it right.

Also because it gives a better impression of the firm if the solicitor who made the mistake owns up and explains how it will be put right, than if a different solicitor suddenly and mysteriously takes over the case and either apologises for the ineptitude of the colleague or takes the case in a new direction without explanation in order to correct the mistake without letting the client know one was ever made.
Arthur Michael Robinson · March 23, 2021 at 22:35:15 · →

No one likes to get things wrong, especially in the Alpha++ world of law and the litigator.
But there is a truth greater even than the ego of a lawyer, more real than the shame of getting it wrong which is that if you lie about a mistake you will be found out and the consequences fir that are much worse.
Fess up! It’s the only way to deal with it.