Best Lawyers in South Carolina, United States for Legal Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs
Whether you’re navigating a family law matter in Akron or managing a real estate transaction in Cincinnati, Ohioans need legal help that’s local, trustworthy and experienced. The Ohio Lawyer Directory from Best Lawyers connects individuals and businesses to some of the most highly regarded attorneys in the state.
Ohio’s legal landscape is as diverse as its people. From the manufacturing cities of the north to the commercial hubs in the center and south, legal needs vary widely. Best Lawyers makes it easier to find attorneys who not only specialize in your issue but who are also known and respected by their peers.
Our Ohio Lawyer Directory offers a focused, reliable starting point for your attorney search. Every lawyer listed has been vetted through a rigorous peer-review process—ensuring you’re not just hiring any lawyer, but one who has earned the respect of fellow legal professionals.
What Sets This Directory Apart
There’s no shortage of attorney directories online. But not all are created equal. Some rely on sponsored listings, others on basic license status. Best Lawyers is different. Lawyers cannot pay to be listed. Inclusion is based solely on peer feedback and professional evaluation.
That matters when your case—and potentially your future—is on the line.
The attorneys in our Ohio directory are nominated by colleagues, reviewed through confidential surveys and verified through independent research. This merit-based process helps identify lawyers who demonstrate legal skill, professional integrity and consistent client results.
The result is a directory you can trust. You can search by name, practice area or location, making it easy to find legal professionals who focus on what you need, where you need it. Whether it’s business litigation in Cleveland or estate planning in Dayton, the directory helps narrow the field to top-tier attorneys recognized for excellence.
Explore Ohio Legal Hubs
Ohio’s legal services vary significantly by region. Cities across the state have developed reputations for specific practice areas, shaped by economic trends, government presence and historical industries.
Cleveland is one of Ohio’s largest legal markets. It is known for its deep bench of litigators, especially in commercial and medical malpractice matters. Cleveland law firms often handle complex disputes, including multi-party cases, federal litigation and class actions. The city is also a center for appellate practice, drawing experienced counsel for high-stakes legal challenges.
In Columbus, the legal focus tilts toward business and government law. As the state capital and home to major corporations, Columbus supports a robust legal community focused on corporate transactions, regulatory compliance and public sector matters. Attorneys here regularly advise on mergers, acquisitions, licensing, employment policies and administrative appeals.
Cincinnati has long been a hub for criminal defense, healthcare law and employment litigation. The city’s location near both Kentucky and Indiana gives it a cross-border legal dimension that many firms leverage to serve regional clients. Cincinnati attorneys also work on product liability, labor negotiations and insurance defense.
Smaller cities and regions bring their own strengths. In Dayton, personal injury and workers’ compensation cases make up a substantial share of legal work. Toledo has built a reputation in estate planning, elder law and probate litigation. Akron law firms often handle union matters, real estate transactions and education law.
The Ohio Lawyer Directory reflects this geographic and practice diversity. Users can explore lawyers across all corners of the state, including metro areas, mid-sized cities and rural communities. With tailored filters and detailed profiles, the directory supports smarter, faster attorney searches.
Peer Review Recognition
Each year, attorneys participate in confidential surveys, rating their peers on legal skill, responsiveness, ethical standards and case outcomes. Those receiving consistently high marks are selected for inclusion in the Best Lawyers directory. Lawyers cannot buy their way into the list or advertise for votes. This structure ensures integrity and promotes genuine recognition.
Peer review isn’t just about prestige—it’s about accuracy and trust. When lawyers nominate and evaluate each other, they provide insights that go beyond public marketing. They understand which colleagues truly excel and who consistently earns strong client results.
Best Lawyers also re-evaluates every listed attorney annually. If a lawyer changes firms, focuses on a new area or no longer meets selection criteria, their listing is updated or removed. This commitment to quality control makes the directory a dependable tool year after year.
The Ohio Lawyer Directory draws directly from these rankings. It reflects not only where attorneys are located but how they are perceived by the legal community. For clients, this means peace of mind. You’re not relying on online reviews or flashy websites—you’re benefiting from the insights of seasoned legal professionals across the state.
Take the Next Step
Legal issues rarely come with easy answers. Whether you’re a business owner protecting your company, a parent facing a custody dispute or a retiree preparing an estate plan, having the right attorney makes a difference.
Start your Ohio attorney search today. Use the directory to browse by city, explore legal specialties or locate a specific attorney by name. With more than four decades of experience and a methodology grounded in professional review, Best Lawyers offers one of the most trusted legal directories available.
You deserve more than a search engine result when you’re looking for a lawyer. You deserve a lawyer trusted by other lawyers. Let Best Lawyers’ Ohio Lawyer Directory guide your next step.
Practice Area Overview
While former clients are the most common plaintiffs, lawyers, and law firms also can be sued by individuals or entities that they never represented. Former clients typically bring claims for legal malpractice (also known as professional negligence), alleging that a lawyer or law firm failed to properly handle a business transaction, lawsuit, or some other matter. Depending on the circumstances, the former client also may assert claims for breach of contract or breach of fiduciary duty. Persons who were never clients of a lawyer may be able to bring a professional negligence or breach of fiduciary duty claim against the lawyer if they can show that they were expected to receive the benefit of a lawyer’s services or were otherwise owed a duty by a lawyer. Lawyers also can be sued for allegedly aiding and abetting torts committed by their clients, such as fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, or malicious prosecution.
Lawyers who sue or defend lawyers and law firms need to have the experience and judgment to assess the strengths and weaknesses of these claims and efficiently manage their litigation. Because legal malpractice plaintiffs are obligated to prove that a lawyer’s conduct fell below the standard of care, which is often the subject of expert testimony, lawyers prosecuting and defending legal malpractice claims must understand the applicable law and make effective use of expert testimony. They must also understand, and critically analyze, the plaintiff’s burden of proving that the lawyer’s or firm’s conduct resulted in actual harm, which in many jurisdictions requires a plaintiff to prove “the case within a case.” Some available defenses are unique to legal malpractice cases. Lawyers handling legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty claims should also have a firm grounding in the ethical rules governing lawyers’ conduct, since such claims often arise from alleged violations of those rules and their assertion may implicate a lawyer’s ethical obligations.
Injury & Malpractice Legal Guide 2025
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Founding partner Keith M. Babcock grew up in Haddonfield, New Jersey, and has practiced law in South Carolina for almost 40 years. Now "of counsel" to Lewis Babcock, his practice has consisted almost exclusively of litigation, with a concentration on business disputes, eminent domain, and professional negligence. He has an outstanding reputation for representing real property owners in eminent domain actions, as well as other disputes. He is an emeritus member of Owners' Counsel of America , ...
Sam Outten represents clients facing professional, commercial, and product liability claims. His clients include law firms, medical facilities, and other professional service providers, as well as manufacturers and financial institutions. Mr. Outten regularly represents clients in state and federal courts throughout South Carolina, as well as in other states. He has tried more than 70 cases to a jury verdict on behalf of regional and national clients.
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.