Duty of Competence

The Duty of Competence requires lawyers to provide legal services that meet a certain standard of skill and knowledge. This means they must be adequately prepared and informed about the law relevant to their client's case, or they should work with other competent lawyers if necessary.

A lawyer takes on a complex tax case without having any prior experience in tax law. Despite the client's repeated requests for updates, the lawyer fails to research the necessary tax regulations and misses critical deadlines. As a result, the client suffers significant financial penalties due to the lawyer's incompetence, leading to a malpractice claim against the lawyer.

Competence is key; don’t let your clients down!

Exams may present scenarios where a lawyer appears to act competently but overlooks critical aspects of the law, leading students to misinterpret the standard of competence required. Students might confuse mere negligence with the higher standard of gross negligence or recklessness.

Questions often involve fact patterns where a lawyer's lack of preparation or knowledge leads to negative outcomes for the client, prompting candidates to assess whether the lawyer met the Duty of Competence.