CACI 604 Referral to Legal Specialist
California Civil Jury Instructions CACI
604 Referral to Legal Specialist
If a reasonably careful attorney in a similar situation would have referred [name of plaintiff] to a legal specialist, then [name of defendant] was negligent if [he/she/nonbinary pronoun] did not do so.
However, if [name of defendant] handled the matter with as much skill and care as a reasonable legal specialist would have, then [name of defendant] was not negligent.
Sources and Authority
•This type of an instruction was approved for use in legal malpractice cases in Horne v. Peckham (1979) 97 Cal.App.3d 404, 414–415 [158 Cal.Rptr. 714], disapproved on other grounds in ITT Small Business Finance Corp. v. Niles (1994) 9 Cal.4th 245, 256 [36 Cal.Rptr.2d 552, 885 P.2d 965].
•Failing to Act Competently. Rule of Professional Conduct: Rule 3-110(C).