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Legal Malpractice

New York Attorney Malpractice Blog

Legal Malpractice Attorney & Lawyer
By Andrew Bluestone

Post Frequency: 9.8/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 06:03:18

Back Story of Misery in Legal Malpractice Case

Posted on August 14, 2008
In Legal Malpractice cases, the subtext is consistently one of betrayal, or at best a shortcoming. Potential clients report that their attorney misled them, or abandoned them, or simply did not do the work. These claims are often true, to a shocking and heartrending degree...

Local Statute of Limitations Dooms Legal Malpractice Case

Posted on August 13, 2008
As an added reason why one should never, never, never dip toes in another state's legal proceedings, see this story on the difference between statute of limitations in an oral versus written contract in legal malpractice. "A legal malpractice claim was time-barred because it was subject to a shorter statute of limitations for actions based on oral contracts, a U...

Again, that Privity Thing in Legal Malpractice

Posted on August 12, 2008
Who may sue the lawyer? Is it the corporation / LLC / etc. or the individual? Here, in this Schulte Roth case [McCagg v. Schulte Roth] from Supreme Court, New York County, partners who are suing each other find that neither may individually sue the attorneys involved for legal malpractice...

Jailed and Now Must Pay Legal Malpractice Award

Posted on August 11, 2008
Campbell Holder, an attorney in Manhattan has the dubious honor of being a jailed legal malpractice defendant. A significant judgment was just entered against him in Federal District Court. The New York Law Journal reports:"An imprisoned former attorney was ordered to pay $250,000 in damages to a client whose case against the Metro-North Commuter Railroad was lost because the lawyer failed to oppose a motion for summary judgment...

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Unusual Settings for Legal Malpractice or its Twin

Posted on August 08, 2008
Continuing a trend for bankruptcy/referee/trustee/ unusual settings for legal malpractice litigation, here is an article from NY Lawyer about the settlement of a large legal malpractice "disentanglement" case:"Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has paid $9...

The Alter Ego in Legal Malpractice

Posted on August 07, 2008
Single stockholder corporations are quite common. Entrepreneurs know that they must start a corporation, and they often equate the corporation's activities with their own, for they, of course, are the CEO, CFO, COO, and sole shareholder. Here is an example of what can go wrong...

More Patent Law Legal Malpractice News

Posted on August 06, 2008
Yesterday we reported on a Nebraska case in which it was found that simply because a legal malpractice case came from a patent matter, it was not a federal question, sufficient for US District Court jurisdiction.Now, hot on the heels, is this case: Singh v...

Is Patent Law Legal Malpractice always a Federal Question?

Posted on August 05, 2008
Jurisdiction in Federal District Court...harks back to the first few weeks of law school. Well, there's diversity...and...and federal question. So, a legal malpractice case arising from a patent transaction...state court or federal district court?Many the removed case has been found to have federal jurisdiction, but this Nebraska Case says that it may be brought in State Court...

Rogue Associate or Legal Malpractice in Thelen Reid Case

Posted on August 04, 2008
Here is a convoluted intelectual property - patent legal malpractice case. Thelen Reid answers, and with its answer, raises more questions. Here, from Law.Com:"Thelen argued that the company "and/or" third parties contributed to the IP losses and that IVI waived the alleged conflicts of interest...

2d Circuit Distinguishes between Civil and Criminal Legal Malpractice Cases

Posted on August 01, 2008
Criminal Defense practitioners enjoy a special dispensation in the legal malpractice world. Plaintiff there must be able to allege [in New York] actual innocence. One need not allege freedom from wrong in the civil end of things.In Hitham Abuhouran, Plaintiff-Appellant, -v...

A "High Bar" in Bankruptcy Legal Malpractice

Posted on July 31, 2008
In this Bankruptcy-Legal Malpractice Case In re Monahan Ford Corp. of Flushing, Debtor. Richard J. McCord, as Chapter 7 Trustee of the Estate of Monahan Ford Corp. of Flushing, Plaintiff -against- Jaspan Schlesinger Hoffman, LLP, Defendant. Case No. 02-23134-CEC, Chapter 7, Adv...

The Boies Case and Statute of Limitations in Legal Malpractice

Posted on July 30, 2008
A recent 3d Department Case gives a well reasoned, and well explained discussion of when the statute of limitations starts to run in legal malpractice situations where the attorney seeks to be relieved. The Third Department has a unique case, Aaron v...

Thelen Reid's Legal Malpractice - Patent Case

Posted on July 29, 2008
Law.Com reports that:"A former tech client of Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner has filed a malpractice complaint against the firm and one of its partners and contends the firm concealed that it was simultaneously working for a key competitor...

"Loss of Chance" in Med Mal and Legal Malpractice

Posted on July 28, 2008
Walter Olson at Overlawyered brings us this reminder of the evolution of medical malpractice and legal malpractice. They spring from the same nexus, but move on to different outcomes, rules, and principals. Could this be because judges decide the law for doctors and lawyers differently?"In a key victory for plaintiffs and their lawyers, the Massachusetts Supreme Court has for the first time adopted the “loss of a chance” doctrine, which allows plaintiffs to recover money even without having to show that it was more likely than not that the charged medical negligence made the difference in their recovery or survival...

Yet Another Take on Collateral Estoppel in Attorney Fee Arbitrations

Posted on July 25, 2008
The Law Profession Blog reports a New Mexico case which intersects with the collateral estoppel question of legal malpractice and attorney fee arbitrations. Is legal malpractice a compulsory counterclaim to an attorney fee suit? "The New Mexico Supreme Court held that a legal malpractice action need not be brought as a compulsory counterclaim to an action brought by the law firm assserting a charging lien against the former client...

Everyone is Talking about "BigLaw" Legal Malpractice

Posted on July 24, 2008
Here is an exerpt from the Wall Street Journal law blog on two legal malpractice cases, one involving Nixon Peabody and one involving Wilmer Hale."Ah, clients. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em. Judging from a couple stories out today, executives from a couple of law firms might have found themselves muttering the above statement in recent days...

How Responsible is an Attorney for the Legal Malpractice of Another ?

Posted on July 23, 2008
Attorneys refer and have cases referred to them all the time. Attorney to attorney referrals are the lifeblood of the law industry, and referral fees are not uncommon. The law of attorney fees is a body unto itself, and legal malpractice involving referred cases is not uncommon...

Bad Decisions and Bad Faith in Legal Malpractice

Posted on July 22, 2008
Following the trend of bankruptcy trustees, receivers and other persons holding the right to sue for others, comes this Indiana case in which the Indiana Department of Insurance has become the plaintiff in a legal malpractice/bad faith litigation which the law firm settled for $ 50,000 and which now proceeds against the insurer for $ 18,000,000...

Is This the Oldest Legal Malpractice Case in New York?

Posted on July 21, 2008
This case from the Appellate Term illustrates the timelyness of a counterclaim. It does not discuss what would have happened if the counterclaim were not timely. Even an untimely counterclaim may continue as an offset to the claim itself, but may not be pursued for a value above that of the claim...

No one Wins in Summary Judgment in this Legal Malpractice Case

Posted on July 18, 2008
Alan Birnbaum, appellant, v James Misiano, et al., respondents. (SUPREME COURT OF NEW YORK, APPELLATE DIVISION, SECOND DEPARTMENT 2008 NY Slip Op 5638; Beginning in the late 1990's, the defendant attorney James Misiano represented the plaintiff, [*2] Alan Birnbaum, with respect to loans Birnbaum made, or was planning to make, to others...

Wife Sues Both Attorneys, Loses Against One in Legal Malpractice

Posted on July 17, 2008
Privity is an essential in legal malpractice, and application of this principal can lead to skewed results. As an example, attorney writes negligent will for decedent, which affects beneficiaries and the decedent's estate. May beneficiaries sue? May estate sue? Sometimes not...

Judiciary Law 487 in the Second Circuit and the Court of Appeals

Posted on July 17, 2008
Judiciary Law 487 is a statute which defines a misdemeanor and creates a private cause of action, with treble damages, §487. Misconduct by attorneys. An attorney or counselor who: 1. Is guilty of any deceit or collusion, or consents to any deceit or collusion, with intent to deceive the court or any party; or, 2...

An Amusing Way out of Legal Malpractice Litigation

Posted on July 16, 2008
The California Blog of Appeal discusses this amusing attempt by a target attorney to get out from under a legal malpractice case. Styles v. Mumbert is a California case in which...well, let Greg May describe it:"You represent the defendant in a lawsuit...

Ethical Violations Doom Attorney's Fee in Legal Malpractice

Posted on July 15, 2008
Plaintiff retained a big name matrimonial firm to represent her. Then she hired a legal malpractice firm to sue the matrimonial firm. The legal malpractice case was dismissed. Apparently she did not want to pay the legal malpractice firm who moved for a quantum meruit fee hearing...

Collectibility in Legal Malpractice: Whose Burden Is It?

Posted on July 14, 2008
From Day on Torts we learn that the "Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that a plaintiff in a legal malpractice case must prove the collectibility of damages" The case is Paterek v. Peterson & Ibold, No 2006-1811 (Ohio June 18, 2008)We've written about this in the past, both here and in the New York Law Journal...

More Recent Cases in Legal Malpractice

Posted on July 11, 2008
Veras Investment Partners, LLC, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Defendant-Respondent. 3812N, 600340/07 SUPREME COURT OF NEW YORK, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT 2008 NY Slip Op 5563; June 19, 2008, Decided The court granted a motion by defendants requiring plaintiffs to divulge attorney client discussions ‘granting defendant's motion for a declaration that plaintiffs waived the attorney-client privilege by placing certain subjects "at issue," and to compel the disclosure of otherwise privileged communications and attorney work product, unanimously modified, on the law and the facts, disclosure of otherwise privileged materials relating to defendant's 2002 advice to plaintiffs and the October 2003” “In this legal malpractice and fraud action, defendant moved for an order compelling disclosure of communications plaintiffs may have had with their nonparty counsel as well as the work product of such counsel...

Some Recent Cases in Legal Malpractice

Posted on July 10, 2008
MITCHELL PHILLIPS AND DALE PHILLIPS, PLAINTIFFS-RESPONDENTS, v MORAN & KUFTA, P.C., JOSEPH J. MORAN, ESQ., RICHARD J. KUFTA, ESQ., DEFENDANTS-APPELLANTS, ET AL., DEFENDANT. 718 CA 07-02711 SUPREME COURT OF NEW YORK, APPELLATE DIVISION, FOURTH DEPARTMENT 2008 NY Slip Op 6025; July 3, 2008, Decided JUDGES: PRESENT: SCUDDER , P...

Is Plaintiff Bound by Documents Signed in Legal Malpractice?

Posted on July 10, 2008
In this Lexology report, the lawfirm Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP argues that a fall decision of the Court of Appeals re-affirms the principal that a legal malpractice claim might proceed even in fhe fact of documents signed by plaintniff or its predecessor...

Proskauer Rose Legal Malpractice Case in Florida

Posted on July 09, 2008
Law.com reports that the Proskauer Rose legal malpractice case continues, but that a discovery dispute over deposition documents has been decided in Proskauer's favor."Proskauer Rose will not be required to turn over internal working papers in a legal malpractice suit filed by Boca Aviation, the 4th District Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday...

Hypothetical Judgments and Legal Malpractice

Posted on July 07, 2008
As part of the "but for" rule, a hypothetical judgment which plaintiff would have won, except for the attorney's mistake, is the measure of damages in legal malpractice. We have written about this in the New York Law Journal. [4/20/07] The defense of collectibility is that even if successful in the case below, plaintiff would not have been able to collect the hypothetical judgment...

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