Anthony Lin of the NYLJ today reports a recent decision of Justice Edmead of Supreme Court, New York County. It is either an appalling story of gender bias and all around smarmy behavior or some simple transcriptional errors. Was it "hon" or "hun." Calling the adversary Attilla the Hun [as the attorney claimed] might even
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.
Mistakes upon Mistake in NJ LEgal Malpractice Case
This case is instructive on several levels. First, it is one of a coming wave of lgal malpractice cases against defense attorneys in civil litigation. Second, it demonstrates the NJ "net opinion" rule, in which an expert must give more than a "personal opinion." The expert must give a standard of care, and must reference…
Recent Legal Malpractice Cases
1. Duffy-Duncan v. Berns & Castro,2007 NY Slip Op 9493, 1st Dept, 11/29/07
Summary judgment denied and affirmed. Attorney had failed to serve a notice of claim on a Transit Authority ice patch slip and fall. Summary judgment denied for failure to demonstrate that the TA had a lack of notice of defense or…
Article on Large and Small Firm Mistakes in Legal Malpractice
William Gwire, a San Francisco Attorney writes in Law.Com about some of his legal malpractice cases in this article.
"The landscape for litigating attorneys has changed dramatically over the 33 years that I’ve been in practice. Cases are more complex, stakes are higher, and competition is more intense. Judges and opposing counsel are less accommodating…
Worker’s Compensation Legal Malpractice Case
Here is a case from the Madison St.Claire Record, detailing a legal malpractice case arising from claims in a Worker’s Compensation matter. "Frank Krausz filed a legal malpractice suit against Ann Dalton and Hammond, Shinners, Turcotte, Larrew & Young in Madison County Circuit Court Nov. 27, alleging they botched his workers’ compensation claim.
According to…
International Firms and International Legal Malpractice Litigation
DLA Piper is Biglaw to the N th degree. Here is a story about this international law firm’s international legal malpractice case. "DLA Piper is facing a negligence claim from a property consultancy company relating to advice it gave to Northern Rock on fraudulent property transactions.
The claim, brought by property company Gerald Eve last…
Billboard vs. Litigation in Legal Malpractice
This law firm is the subject of a billboard advertising campaign.
"A former client of Damon & Morey LLP is publicly airing complaints about the law firm.
The charges can be found on a Web site, in e-mails, on a since-removed Niagara Falls Boulevard billboard and in flyers being passed out around town.
Daniel…
Minimum Showing in a California Legal Malpractice Case
In this California Case, the court discusses the minimum showing of economic loss necessary. "A dentist being sued for dental malpractice has alleged none of the economic losses usually associated with claims for the breach of an insurance contract, bad faith or legal malpractice, a California appeals panel held Nov. 19, finding that a…
Bench Trial Exception to Expert Testimony in Legal Malpractice?
Here is a report of a Texas case which raises a novel argument: In a bench trial is it necessary to present expert evidence of legal malpractice? The argument is that evidence of a deviation from good and accepted practice must be shown to a jury, whose knoweldge generaly is insufficient for them to decide…
Successful So Far in Legal Malpractice
It’s not possible to predict how an appellate court will decide summary judgment motions. All know the standard. Interpretation of the arguments varies from panel to panel.
Here is a recently decided legal malpractice summary judgment and appeal . Hamilton Duffy-Duncan, Plaintiff-Respondent, v Berns & Castro, et al., Defendants-Appellants.
2235, 27619/03 SUPREME COURT…