The law firm represented itself.  No appearance shows for Respondent.  Appellant nevertheless loses in Napoli v Rubin  2021 NY Slip Op 06180
Decided on November 10, 2021 Appellate Division, Second Department.  Sadly, the Appellate Division gives very little explanation of why.

“In March 2017, the plaintiff commenced this action to recover damages for legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, and violation of Judiciary Law § 487. The plaintiff moved to dismiss the defendant’s counterclaims, and the defendant cross-moved, inter alia, for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. The Supreme Court, inter alia, in effect, denied that branch of the defendant’s cross motion which was for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. The defendant appeals.

On a motion for summary judgment, the moving party must “make a prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, tendering sufficient evidence to demonstrate the absence of any material issues of fact” (Alvarez v Prospect Hosp., 68 NY2d 320, 324). The failure to make such a showing requires a denial of the motion, regardless of the sufficiency of the opposing papers (see id. at 324; Winegrad v New York Univ. Med. Ctr., 64 NY2d 851, 853).

Here, the defendant failed to establish her prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. Therefore, the Supreme Court properly denied that branch of her cross motion which was for summary judgment dismissing the complaint regardless of the sufficiency of the plaintiff’s opposition papers (see Blumencranz v Botter, 182 AD3d 568, 569; see generally Winegrad v New York Univ. Med. Ctr., 64 NY2d at 853).”