A legal malpractice action may be brought for negligence and breach of contract, as in Coleman v. Duane Morris, 58 A.3d 833 (Pa.Super. 2012). At least arising from underlying civil actions, these separate causes of action are not mutually exclusive and do overlap. A legal malpractice breach of contract cause of action does not require a breach of a specific contractual term (such as in the fee agreement) but, rather, arises from the implicit duty to act within the standard of care arising in every attorney-client relationship. Thus, the statute of limitations for legal malpractice in Pennsylvania is essentially four years (the breach of contract statute of limitations is four years; the negligence statute of limitations is two years).
But when does this statute of limitations commence?
