Legal Malpractice

Bad Blood after a Legal Malpractice Win

By (Andrew Lavoott Bluestone)

Here is a different kind of Streisand Effect, this time in a post-legal malpractice setting.  Leigh Jones at Law Com reports on a two firm battle.  Plaintiff's firm Bland and Richter successfully sued Nexsen Pruet Adams & Kleemeier for legal malpractice and settled the case.  As part of that prosecution, defendant law firm had to provide a copy of their manual relating to conflict checking.  A confidentiality agreement was reached and plaintiff's firm was to return and not again use the manual.  This suit undermines any confidentiality agreement they may have had, a la Streisand.

A new client came to them, and they again sued Nexsen.  Finding that they had not returned the manual, instead of either returning it, or not using it, it was marked at a deposition and used.  Nexsen sued and lost a contempt proceeding at the trial level.  "The Supreme Court of South Carolina determined that attorneys Eric S. Bland and Ronald L. Richter breached an agreement that their law firm had reached in a legal malpractice lawsuit that it filed against Nexsen Pruet in 2000.

Reversing the lower court, the state Supreme Court decision found that Bland and Richter violated a protective order and the settlement agreement, and were in contempt for their conduct following the resolution reached with Nexsen Pruet, a Columbia, S.C.-based firm with about 165 attorneys. "
 

"Arguing that Bland Richter's conduct was calculated and deliberate, Nexsen Pruet offered a photograph that showed a display hanging in the Bland Richter offices.

The photo was of Richter holding a blow-up check payable to "Bland Law Firm and Richter Law Firm" and Myrick. The amount on the check was written as "$$$$$$$ Big Money $$$$$$." According to the decision, Bland was positioned on one side of the giant check in the photo and was shown shaking the hand of a person on the opposite side of the check whose face was super-imposed with an image of Neil C. Robinson, the Nexsen Pruet attorney whose conduct was at issue in the Myrick case.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Robinson said that he felt "completely vindicated" by the Sept. 22 decision. "
 

Full post as published by New York Attorney Malpractice Blog on September 26, 2008 (boomark / email).