We reported in April that this case was on hold. Now its on the move. Details.
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.
Attorney Prepares Will, Sued for Legal Malpractice
Here is the story of attorney who was retained by decedent’s girl friend to prepare a will in her favor. He does so, and other persons arrange for signature. Its returned to attorney all signed an finished. Now the kin sue for legal malpractice. Two problems: privity and proximity. This situation comes up frequently. When…
Full Details on Epstein Becker Green dismissal
Here are the full details from the New York Law Journal on the Epstein Becker Green legal malpractice dismissal
No fiduciary Duty for Epstein Becker Green, No Legal Malpractice
The NYLJ today reports that a legal malpractice case against Epstein Becker Green has been dismissed. JHO Gammerman’s decision that it had a fiduciary duty to HF Management was reversed, and if no fiduciary duty, no legal malpractice. Details in the NYLJ today.
Attorney Fees in an Inquest and Rule 137
This is not a legal malpractice case, or better put, not yet. Wexler & Burkhart were stopped from an inquest on legal fees until they provided proofs of compliance with Rule 137. often, when the fee dispute matures, a claim of legal malpractice is made. It is somethimes, but not always reflexive. Often, the claimed…
Targeted for too much Appellate work, and Legal Malpractice
The headline was startling: Sword Attacker questions Attorney’s sidework. The gist: Sword attacker Dion Goodell, who is serving a sentence for slicing someone’s wrists with a long sword, questioned whether his attorney, who writes appeals on his own time, and with his own legal malpractice coverage, had done him wrong. Question is still open. Details.…
Legal Malpractice Case Dismissed, Attorney Fee Reversed
Plaintiff was the wife in a divorce. Defendant Antokol & Coffin was the law firm who represented her. Her legal malpractice case turned on the lack of a second valuation witness. Law firm countercliams for legal fees. Legal malpractice action is dismissed on basis that plaintiff failed to present an affidavit from a second valuation…
Overkill in Malpractice Litigation – Jurors Beware!
OK, its not legal malpractice, but in view of the historical linkage of medical malpractice and legal malpractice, this is a very dangerous course of conduct: targeting jurors after a bad result. Defendants here are now trying to discredit jurors after losing big. Is this right? Details.
Sui Generis and legal Malpractice Report
Thanks for the write up in Sui Generis of our report last week on Suspension in New York and Legal Malpractice.
Illinois Supreme Court limits Legal Malpractice Damages
Not entirely a surprise, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that legal malpractice plaintiff may not recover lost punitive damages from his defendant attorney. Damages, they decided, are limited to regular compensatory damages that could have been obtained from the underlying defendants. Details.