A New York attorney was permitted to testify about the settlement value of plaintiff’s case, had it continued in New York. The attorney, Kenneth Labarca, was allowed to testify that the case would have been among the 90% of cases which settle in NY, and that the value would have been between $95,000 and $
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.
Doctor wins in Doctor v. Lawyer Case of Legal Malpractice
Just to show you that the case is not over ’till [fill in a cliche here], this doctor, who already won a $ 8 Million verdict came back to grab another $ 180,000 from his attorney. The attorney, who was successful in the underlying personal injury action, split ways with the doctor too soon. Now,…
Judicial Hellholes and Legal Malpractice Reporting
Here is a re-print in which the author lists judicial hell holes for litigants. Interesting to this blog is the confluence between the Madison County, Illinois description and the many articles from the Madison Reporter we have reported in Legal Malpractice. Is there a relationship? Keep tuned. The Hell Hole Blog.
Disgorgement of Fees in Legal Malpractice
This is a hot topic. Disgorgement due to "for cause" termination, not amounting to legal malpractice is a brand new area to the field. The Court of Appeals has enunciated a principal that if an attorney is terminated for cause, the attorney is due no compensation. Here is a blurb from Hinshaw that tells of…
A Colorado View of Mandatory Legal Malpractice Insurance
He says, perhaps reasonably, if Real Estate brokers are required to have E&O insurance, why not attorneys? His blog.
Much Needed Celebrity in Legal Malpractice
We’ve been covering legal malpractice for a while, and yes, there was the Michael Bolton case, and the Michael Jackson case, but generally few celebrity links come up in legal malpractice, Today’s page 6 shot comes from Nashville, and features a pretty singer. Details follow.
Appellate Malpractice?
Here is a Caroline Elephant blog blurb on the 7th Cir’s problem with briefs.
"Hey 7th Circuit — Why Not Cut Lawyers Some Slack?
Howard Bashman, author of How Appealing, warns in an article ("Commentary: Have 7th Circuit Judges Gone Off the Deep End?") that the 7th Circuit judges Posner and Easterbrook risk becoming…
Statewide Standard in Tennessee
Hinshaw reports a case which finds a statewide standard of attorney practice in Tennessee. Statewide standards are found in New York and in the majority of jurisdictions. The Hinshaw article.
Scratch your Head kind of Case in Legal Malpractice
Here is an odd report. In New York, it does not take anyone in particular to file a notice of appeal; certainly it does not require an attorney, admitted, in good standing or otherwise to pay the fee and file the notice. Virginia seems different. The article.
Judges Fall delays Legal Malpractice Trial
We reported on this turnaround doctor sues lawyer case last week. Now, the trial is dalayed:
"Judge’s fall delays trial
A spirited legal malpractice trial under way in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court hit a bump Thursday after the retired judge hearing the case, Robert Lawther, fell in his Lakewood driveway, breaking his leg and…