Client is involved in a fraudulent transaction, or even in an investment gone sour, and seeks to get the investment money back. Client looks to see who might be responsible, and attorneys are always a good target. This sometimes leads to dismissals of legal malpractice cases on standing, privity and statute of limitations.
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.
The Collateral Estoppel Trap in Legal Malpractice
A legal malpractice case is brought, and swiftly dismissed. In Cie Sharp v Krishman Chittur 2014 NY Slip Op 31303(U) May 13, 2014 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: 155098/13 Judge: Joan A. Madden the reason is that the attorney was awarded a fee for the same work. The two cannot co-exist.
"In…
No Expert – No Win!
Troy: Just like Jack Hall Plumbing & Heating, Inc. v Duffy, 100 AD3d 1082, 1084 [2012]) defendant moved for summary judgment without an expert. Just like Jack Hall, the motion fails.Land Man Realty, Inc. v Faraone 2012 NY Slip Op 08218 [100 AD3d 1336] November 29, 2012
Appellate Division, Third…
Early Infighting in a Legal Malpractice Case
When parties represent themselves, a skewing of the normal motion practice is often seen. In general, motions over service of process, and whether a party may practice law in New York are rarely seen. Here, in Reem Contr. v Altschul & Altschul 2014 NY Slip Op 03638 Decided on May 20, 2014 Appellate Division…
Attorney Collection Cases in Small Claims Court
Riverhead: A huge component of litigation concerning attorneys as parties is for fee collection work. Often, an attorney will sue in Small Claims Court for a fee. Sometimes, the attorney will be sued in Small Claims Court and will Counterclaim for fees. What happens when the fee is in excess of $ 5,000. Often, the…
Fundamentals Are Everything in Legal Malpractice
Glens Falls: In this case two fundamental mistakes plague the attorney. The first got him into the legal malpractice case, and the second kept him from getting out. A relatively straightforward employment agreement granted the manager the right to a "hearing" of sorts. The attorney participated in a termination that did away with the "hearing." …
Terminated For Cause or Not?
ITHACA: There are two rules on how to divide contingent attorney fees. One rule applies when the dispute is between the client and the attorney,and a second rule, which is itself more complex, applies when the dispute is between two attorneys. Here in Wiggins v Kopko 2013 NY Slip Op 02312 [105 AD3d 1132] April…
Death and Taxes are Certain…The Future in General is Not
The Appellate Division looked over a Supreme Court decision dismissing a legal malpractice case. The case alleged that the estate attorneys advised the executor to pay the estate taxes from decedent’s estate rather than using an alternative method which would have saved plaintiff a specific amount of tax. In Estate of Feder v Winne, Banta, …
A Legal Malpractice Story Right Out of Grisham
There are several views of the legal malpractice world. One (the most cynical) is that all legal malpractice cases are reflexive attempts to get out of paying attorney fees. A second view is that legal malpractice is venomous hindsight and unfair to the hard working attorney. A third view is that legal malpractice is a…
Pro Se Claims in Legal Malpractice
Rochester: Pro se claims in general are regarded with skepticism, and even more so in legal malpractice. The Bar (and judiciary’s) take on legal malpractice cases in general is that they are reflex "dissatisfaction" cases, and are often meritless. This applies with greater force to pro se cases, where the general thought is that plaintiff could…