Law.Com reports that Sidley Austin is about to pay out $30 million to investors, in settlement of a letgal malpractice case arising from its tax shelter advice. But there is an additional $70 million in liability lurking about. 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.
Fendi-Weil Gotschal Legal Malpractice Settles
At almost the end of testimony, this legal malpractice case settled. It had two components. The first was the WG fees still owed: they were in excess of $2 million if you count interest. The second was whether the law firm committed malpractice, and if so, did it damage plaintiff.
This is an excellent outcome…
Disaster and Law Office Failure in Legal Malpractice
Here is a reprint of a Florida Bar Journal article by Jim Keim which discusses legal malpractice in the wake of a natural disaster, such as Katrina. Are you prepared? Article.
“de minimus” defense in Legal Malpractice
Plaintiff is seller of a house in Long Island. He hires defendant attorney to do a full service job in the sale: prepare contract, oversee negotation and transaction while seller is out of state. Things go wrong. Plaintiff alleges that attorney started unnecessary L & T proceedings even though summer renters would have left voluntarily…
Assignment of Legal Malpractice Claims
Here is a report by Matthew Conigliaro from his blog on the assignment of legal malpractice cases, either by specific agreement or by implicaiton. Its not permitted in Florida. His Blog
Sex, Crimes and Legal Malpractice
It really doesn’t get any sexier than this in a particularly dry field. He: Criminal, rich, victim; She: lawyer, thief? He says so. Did she steal his Porsche, his Mercedes, his $250K? Even worse, did she commit legal malpractice? Read all about this thriller.
Investor Fraud, and the only $$ comes from Legal Malpractice
The KL Investor Group fraud is a big story in Palm Beach, FL and investors lost many $ Millions. So far, in Bankruptcy court, the only money to be available for investors/creditors is $ 477,000 from one attorney. Details.
Repose Period in Legal Malpractice in Illinois
Here is a subscription only short report on a case in Chicago where their Supreme Court is considering a “repose” period in legal malpractice. Details.
Compulsory Legal Malpractice Insurance in Minn ?
For all the usual reasons, the Supreme Court of Minnesota is considering compulsory Legal Malpractice insurance there. Details.
Flip Flop on Weil Gotshal Legal Malpractice Case
On Friday, the judge floated the possibility of questions concerning earlier alleged conflicts of interest in the Michael Bolton case. Today the NYLJ reports that no such questioning will take place. See Friday’s report for background.