Often, a legal malpractice case hinges on what a court would have done if there were no settlement, or if a certain witness were called, or if a certain document had been offered for admission. Courts routinely refuse to “speculate” what would have happened if. This is not always true in other types of litigation.
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 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.
A Business Litigation Where The Attorney Summary Judgment Victory is Affirmed
Blank v. Petrosyants. 2026 NY Slip Op 05074 August 26, 2026 Appellate Division, Second Department is mostly about the business fight between cater co-venturers, but also involved an attorney. As often happens, there is only one attorney in the business negotiations, and Plaintiff would like to sue, but lacks privity.
“In an action, inter alia…
Not Inconsequential Legal Malpractice
Puccio v Hoffman, Wachtell & Rao, LLP 2026 NY Slip Op 05122 August 26, 2026
Appellate Division, Second Department is a legal malpractice case based upon a worker’s compensation claim which did not go well. The Appellate Division affirmed on the basis of “not inconsequential” claims
“In January 2024, the plaintiff commenced this action against…
What Exactly is “Egregious Conduct”?
Salas v. 711-715 E. 231st St., LLC , Appellate Division, First Department, Decided August 20, 2026, 2026 NY Slip Op 05064 shows both sides of a decision dismissing a Judiciary Law 487 claim. With a two-judge dissent, it may well go to the Court of Appeals.
Holding: “Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Andrew J.
There Was No Case And You Screwed It Up Anyways!
That’s the successful defense offered by the attorneys in Rosenthal v Liberty Mut. Ins. Co.
2026 NY Slip Op 05043 August 19, 2026 Appellate Division, Second Department against a client’s claim that they allowed the statute of limitations to pass. The defense succeeded.
“In October 2019, the plaintiff commenced this action against the defendants James…
Quite a Lot Below The Surface
In MVP Delivery and Logistics, Inc. v. Brown Chiari LLP. , Sup. Ct. Erie, 8/4/2026, we see an unusual denial of a motion to dismiss a complicated attorney malpractice and Judiciary Law 487 case.
“Defendants Brown Chiari LLP, James E. Brown, Esq., Donald P. Chiari, Esq., and Angelo S. Gambino, Esq. (collectively, “Defendants”) move, pursuant…
Continuous Representation Requires Continuing Representation
Nicalaou v Ranalli 2026 NY Slip Op 04777 July 29, 2026 Appellate Division, Second Department illustrates the basic proofs necessary to demonstrate continuing representation.
“The defendants, Ernest R. Ranalli and Ranalli Law Group, PLLC, Ranalli’s law firm, represented the plaintiff, Sotiris Nicalaou, during a portion of the pendency of an action to foreclose a residential…
No Judiciary Law 487 Claim, But The Possibility of Termination For Cause
Williams v Biggs July 29, 2026 Appellate Division, Second Department is a long decision to read. Pro-se plaintiff loses most causes of action, but the final paragraphs prove to be a potential victory.
“This action stems from an underlying action commenced by the plaintiff against New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (hereinafter NYCHHC), several physicians…
Really Trying To Avoid Paying Child Support
In Matter of Solomon v Broderick 2026 NY Slip Op 04510 July 22, 2026 Appellate Division, Second Department. the father unsuccessfully invoked Judiciary Law 487 to try to avoid paying child support.
“In 2006, a matrimonial action between Jeffrey Solomon and his former wife was commenced in the Supreme Court. In September 2007, Solomon and…
Back and Forth and Back Again in the Supreme Court
In Mrkulic v Peters 2026 NY Slip Op 04499 July 22, 2026 Appellate Division, Second Department, the Supreme Court judge gave leave to file a default, then agreed with defendants that there should be no default, and then once again agreed with plaintiffs that there should be a default. Three years later the Second…