Sometimes flamboyant, often visionary, architects are different from the general masses. Celebrity architects often have unique personal style, including unusual eyeglasses. That all aside, architects are granted a higher standard of proof against them in negligence actions, as is described in New York Mar. & Gen. Ins. Co. v Perotto Assoc. Eng’g, P.C., 2017
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.
Big Changes in Bail Bond Premiums
Once in a while a case captures your interest. This was the situation in Gevorkyan. Sure, this was outside of legal malpractice and professional liability, but a former client came to us with a problem. He had been arrested for financial crimes, and bail was set at $2 Million. He paid a bail bond premium,…
A New Hotel, A New Construction Method, An Old Problem
New York is full of real estate stories, and has been since Dutch times. Whether it was acquisitions in Old Breuckelen, or in the narrow streets of the lower east side, real estate and development has always been a New York sort of activity.
Money, Fashion, Greed and Cruelty
Legal malpractice cases encapsulate the entire world. In this short story, money, fashion, greed and cruelty combine into a fairy tail of tragedy. Oleg Cassini was wildly successful. He died in 2006 with an estate of about $ 60 Million. He had a child from an earlier marriage with actress Gene Tierney, which ended…
A Summer of Golden Oldie Judicary Law 487 Cases
Last week we reported on the reappearance of Dupree v. Vorhees in the Judiciary Law § 487 pantheon. Today, we see that Melcher v Greenberg Traurig LLP 2017 NY Slip Op 31727(U)
August 15, 2017 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: 650188/2007 Judge: O. Peter Sherwood has similarly bobbed up.
Melcher has a fascinating…
No Expert, No Win.
Sure, you avoided motions to dismiss. Sure, you avoided a motion for summary judgment. Sure, you got a jury verdict. Enough already? Nope. In Michael v He Gin Lee Architect Planner, PLLC 2017 NY Slip Op 06177 Decided on August 16, 2017, the Appellate Division, Second Department looks at plaintiff’s jury verdict and reverses, then…
Proofs in Summary Judgment
Schmidt v One N.Y. Plaza Co. LLC 2017 NY Slip Op 06047 Decided on August 8, 2017
Appellate Division, First Department is not a legal malpractice case, but it is a well written decision setting forth how experts battle in a summary judgment case. Plaintiff slips/falls from a ramp while at work. His job is…
School Has Good Claims, but Late, Too Late
New York has no applicable statute of limitations longer than 6 years, and this case was brought too late. That is the holding in Epiphany Community Nursery Sch. v Levey August 7, 2017
Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: 654655/2016 Judge: Shirley Werner Kornreich. This shocking story of monies siphoned off by an unfaithful…
BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA
We are extremely proud to report that Andrew Lavoott Bluestone has again been selected for inclusion in this years edition of The Best Lawyers in America (24th Edition). He has been included since 2012.
No Judiciary Law 487 Claim Here…But Why?
Dec v BFM Realty, LLC 2017 NY Slip Op 05936 Decided on August 2, 2017 Appellate Division, Second Department. Summary judgment is granted below, and the AD affirms. In a short opinion, little light is shed.
“The plaintiff commenced this action alleging two causes of action. The first cause of action, alleging fraud, was asserted…