Legal Definitions - reasonable skill

The legal term reasonable skill refers to the level of competence and care that a typical, prudent, and qualified professional in a particular field would exercise when performing a service, given the circumstances. It does not demand perfection, but rather adherence to accepted industry standards, professional norms, and what is generally expected of someone with their training and experience.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: A Financial Advisor

  Imagine a financial advisor managing a client's investment portfolio. Exercising reasonable skill would mean the advisor researches investment options thoroughly, understands the client's risk tolerance and financial goals, diversifies the portfolio appropriately, and provides timely advice based on market conditions. If the advisor were to invest all of a client's retirement savings into a single, highly speculative stock without discussing the risks, that would likely be considered a failure to exercise reasonable skill, as a typical competent advisor would not take such an undiversified and high-risk approach without explicit client consent and understanding.

• Example 2: A Software Developer

  Consider a software developer hired to create a custom application for a business. Demonstrating reasonable skill involves writing code that is functional, secure, and reasonably free of bugs, following established coding practices, and meeting the agreed-upon specifications. If the developer delivers an application that constantly crashes, has major security vulnerabilities due to overlooked standard protocols, or fails to perform basic functions as outlined in the project requirements, they may be deemed to have not exercised reasonable skill, as a competent developer would typically produce more reliable and secure software.

• Example 3: A Home Inspector

  Suppose a home inspector is hired to evaluate a property before a sale. Applying reasonable skill means the inspector conducts a thorough visual examination of accessible areas, identifies significant defects in major systems (like the roof, foundation, plumbing, and electrical), and provides a comprehensive report detailing their findings. If the inspector overlooks a glaring structural crack in the foundation that would be obvious to any competent inspector, or fails to test a major appliance that is clearly broken, they would likely be considered to have fallen short of exercising reasonable skill, as a typical professional in their field would have identified such issues.