As  Schoolman v. NcAuliffe 2020 NY Slip Op 34228(U) December 21, 2020 Supreme Court, Suffolk County Docket Number: 4311/2019 Judge: Sanford Neil Berland demonstrates, bankruptcy can serve as a sheering tool. Enter into bankruptcy and sone/all of your possessions are gone.

“”‘Upon the filing of a voluntary bankruptcy petition. all property which a debtor owns.including a cause of action, vests in the bankruptcy estate,”‘(Burbacki v. Abrams, Fensterman, Eisman, Formato, Ferrara & Wolf, LLP, 172 AD3d 1300, l 300. 99 NYS3d 671 [2d Dept 2019), quoting Keegan v. Moriarty-Morris, 153 AD3d 683, 684 (2d Dept 20 17), citing
11 USC§ 541 [a][IJ; In re Oshome, 2013 WL 113177662, *2, 2013 US Dist LEXIS 190402, *5-6 {SONY 2013)). Therefore, a plaintiff may not maintain a legal malpractice cause of action in his or her individual capacity relating to a bankruptcy. The right to sue is only exercisable by
the trustee in bankruptcy. whether the claim asserted in the complaint accrued prior to the filing of the bankruptcy petition. or post-petition (see 11 USC § 541 [a][ I): Burbacki v. Abrams, Fensterman, Eiseman, Formato, Ferrara & Wolf, LLP, supra 172 AD3d at 1300, citing Williams v. Stein, 6 AD3d 197, 775 NYS2d 255 (1st Dept 2004). /n re Osborne, 2013 WL 11317662, *2-3. 2013 US Dist LEXIS I 90402. *7-8. Jn re Alvarez, 224 F3d 1273. 1275-1278 [11th Cir 2000)). Therefore, to the extent that plaintiff asserts claims for legal malpractice in connection with defendant’s representation of the three companies, plaintiff lacks the capacity to sue as a matter of bankruptcy law.”

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Andrew Lavoott Bluestone

Andrew Lavoott Bluestone has been an attorney for 40 years, with a career that spans criminal prosecution, civil litigation and appellate litigation. Mr. Bluestone became an Assistant District Attorney in Kings County in 1978, entered private practice in 1984 and in 1989 opened…

Andrew Lavoott Bluestone has been an attorney for 40 years, with a career that spans criminal prosecution, civil litigation and appellate litigation. Mr. Bluestone became an Assistant District Attorney in Kings County in 1978, entered private practice in 1984 and in 1989 opened his private law office and took his first legal malpractice case.

Since 1989, Bluestone has become a leader in the New York Plaintiff’s Legal Malpractice bar, handling a wide array of plaintiff’s legal malpractice cases arising from catastrophic personal injury, contracts, patents, commercial litigation, securities, matrimonial and custody issues, medical malpractice, insurance, product liability, real estate, landlord-tenant, foreclosures and has defended attorneys in a limited number of legal malpractice cases.

Bluestone also took an academic role in field, publishing the New York Attorney Malpractice Report from 2002-2004.  He started the “New York Attorney Malpractice Blog” in 2004, where he has published more than 4500 entries.

Mr. Bluestone has written 38 scholarly peer-reviewed articles concerning legal malpractice, many in the Outside Counsel column of the New York Law Journal. He has appeared as an Expert witness in multiple legal malpractice litigations.

Mr. Bluestone is an adjunct professor of law at St. John’s University College of Law, teaching Legal Malpractice.  Mr. Bluestone has argued legal malpractice cases in the Second Circuit, in the New York State Court of Appeals, each of the four New York Appellate Divisions, in all four of  the U.S. District Courts of New York and in Supreme Courts all over the state.  He has also been admitted pro haec vice in the states of Connecticut, New Jersey and Florida and was formally admitted to the US District Court of Connecticut and to its Bankruptcy Court all for legal malpractice matters. He has been retained by U.S. Trustees in legal malpractice cases from Bankruptcy Courts, and has represented municipalities, insurance companies, hedge funds, communications companies and international manufacturing firms. Mr. Bluestone regularly lectures in CLEs on legal malpractice.

Based upon his professional experience Bluestone was named a Diplomate and was Board Certified by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys in 2008 in Legal Malpractice. He remains Board Certified.  He was admitted to The Best Lawyers in America from 2012-2019.  He has been featured in Who’s Who in Law since 1993.

In the last years, Mr. Bluestone has been featured for two particularly noteworthy legal malpractice cases.  The first was a settlement of an $11.9 million dollar default legal malpractice case of Yeo v. Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman which was reported in the NYLJ on August 15, 2016. Most recently, Mr. Bluestone obtained a rare plaintiff’s verdict in a legal malpractice case on behalf of the City of White Plains v. Joseph Maria, reported in the NYLJ on February 14, 2017. It was the sole legal malpractice jury verdict in the State of New York for 2017.

Bluestone has been at the forefront of the development of legal malpractice principles and has contributed case law decisions, writing and lecturing which have been recognized by his peers.  He is regularly mentioned in academic writing, and his past cases are often cited in current legal malpractice decisions. He is recognized for his ample writings on Judiciary Law § 487, a 850 year old statute deriving from England which relates to attorney deceit.