Here is a blog blurb from an Indiana Case:

"In Norman R. Carlson, Jr., et al v. Sweeney, Dabagia, Donoghue, Thorne, James & Pagos, et al, a 28-page opinion dealing with questions of alleged attorney malpractice in will drafting, Judge Robb writes:

Norman R. Carlson, Jr., individually, and as executor of the estates of Norman R. Carlson and Hilda D. Carlson, and as Trustee of the Trust established under the last wills and testaments of Norman Sr. and Hilda, Margaret Ann Carlson, Beth Carlson Montigue, and David R. Carlson, (when referred to collectively, the “Carlsons”), filed a complaint against the law firm of Sweeney, Dabagia, Donoghue, Thorne, Janes and Pagos, and lawyer John H. Sweeney (the “Lawyers”), alleging legal malpractice that resulted in adverse tax consequences. The Lawyers filed a motion for summary judgment, raising two issues. The trial court denied the Lawyers’ motion as to one issue, but granted it as to the other. The Carlsons now appeal, raising a single issue, which we restate as whether the trial court properly granted summary judgment based on its determination that reformations to the Wills drafted by the Lawyers effectively eliminated any malpractice that occurred relating to the drafting of the original Wills. On cross-appeal, the Lawyers raise a single issue, which we restate as whether the trial court properly denied its motion for summary judgment on the grounds that the original Wills would result in adverse tax consequences. The Lawyers also raise the following issues: 1) whether the “substantial adverse interest exception” protects the Carlsons from adverse tax consequences; 2) whether the Carlsons have brought this suit too early, as the IRS has not yet assigned a tax penalty; and 3) whether the trial court improperly considered the opinion of an attorney hired by the Carlsons. We conclude the adverse interest exception does not protect the Carlsons, the Carlsons are not precluded from bringing their suit at this time, and that the Lawyers waived their argument relating to the opinion of the expert witness by not raising it before the trial court. We further conclude that the trial court properly found that the original Wills would result in adverse tax consequences, and affirm the trial court’s denial of the Lawyers’ motion for summary judgment on that issue. However, we conclude that the reformations did not effectively avoid potential adverse tax consequences, reverse the trial court’s grant of summary judgment on that issue, and remand for further proceedings. * * *

Conclusion We conclude that the trial court properly determined that the original Wills did not establish an ascertainable standard regarding a Trustee’s ability to invade the trust corpus; that the “adverse interest” clause does not protect the Trust from tax liability; and that the Carlsons did not bring this suit prematurely. Therefore, we affirm the trial court’s denial of the summary judgment motion on these grounds. We also conclude that the reformations did not comport with Indiana law, and that the trial court therefore improperly granted summary judgment. We therefore reverse the trial courts grant of summary judgment and remand for further proceedings."

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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.