PROVING MALPRACTICE -- To prove malpractice, the plaintiff must prove that a lawyer failed to exercise reasonable skill and that such failure was the proximate cause to the damage or loss. This means proving 1) that his or her counsel’s performance fell below a standard of reasonableness; 2) that "this deficient performance did not involve the exercise of judgment, discretion of strategy, or trial tactics"; and 3) that the performance so compromised the action that without these professional errors, the client would have prevailed.