Here is an interesting report on a trial loss, potential legal malpractice at the trial level, and then a really big mistake on appeal.  The last mistake is said to have been committed by a newly nominated Federal Judge Duncan Getchell, Jr.

"Two years ago, someone made a huge mistake at the Virginia Supreme Court – a clerical error that cost a client a chance to win an $8 million appeal.

“If there is a more terrifying lawyer story than this one, I don’t want to hear it,” wrote one legal analyst, L. Steven Emmert of Virginia Beach, who runs a Web site called Virginia Appellate News & Analysis.

It was a simple goof – someone forgot to file a trial transcript – but it caused the Supreme Court to throw out an appeal of an $8 million jury verdict.

The lead attorney for that appeal was E. Duncan Getchell Jr., who has been nominated by President Bush for a judgeship on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond.

Getchell, of Richmond, is a partner with McGuireWoods, one of the largest and most powerful law firms in Virginia.

Was he responsible for the mistake?

It is not clear who was supposed to physically deliver the transcript – Getchell, another lawyer or a paralegal – but court records show that Getchell took over as lead attorney after the verdict in July 2004. Another law firm handled the trial.

Getchell’s firm filed the first post-trial motions three weeks after the verdict, and Getchell personally argued those motions. He also signed the notice of appeal that stated, incorrectly, that the trial transcript had been filed.

Every document after that was signed by Getchell. He was the lawyer in charge when the error was made.

On the other hand, the insurance company that paid the $8 million does not blame Getchell – yet. For now, the company is suing the trial attorney and his law firm in a legal malpractice case to recover the money.