In any action for injury or damages or wrongful death, whether in contract or in tort, against a legal service provider, the plaintiff shall have the burden of proving that the legal service provider breached the applicable standard of care. The applicable standard of care shall be as follows:
(1) The applicable standard of care against the defendant legal service provider shall be such reasonable care and skill and diligence as other similarly situated legal service providers in the same general line of practice in the same general area ordinarily have and exercise in a like case.
(2) However, if the defendant publishes the fact that he or she is certified as a specialist in an area of the law or if the defendant legal service provider solicits business by publicly advertising as a specialist in any area of the law, the standard of care applicable to such legal service provider in a claim for damages resulting from the practice of such a specialty shall be such reasonable care, skill, and diligence as other legal service providers practicing as specialist in the same area of the law ordinarily have and exercise in a like case.
(3) Nothing in this article shall be deemed to allow either the solicitation of business by or advertising by a legal services provider in violation of any rule of the Alabama Supreme Court.
Last modified: May 3, 2021