Legal Malpractice insurance is a vital component of doing business in New York. What attorney goes to sleep comfortably without it? Yet, carriers are always looking for a way out. Here is an example of the latest twist in NJ from Law.Com:
"A legal malpractice carrier is taking a hard line on the level…
It centers around a Charles M. Russell statue; what could be more quintessentailly Western. Real or Fake? The outcome of this case is a $1 Million verdict against the attorneys and $ 9 Million in Punitive damages. Hinshaw reports:
"Steve Morton and the international law firm that represented him had very strong, credible grounds to…
Our recurring theme is that legal malpractice may pop up anywhere in the world/attorney interaction. Here is an interesting situation we never envisioned. What does an estate attorney do about vintage firearms? What about that WW2 tommy gun up in the attic?
"Estate Planning for Grandpop’s Gun in the Chest
Joshua Prince, a law student…
Some states require disclosure of legal malpractice coverage [really non-coverage.] New York does not. California is debating the issue. From Law.Com:
"Deciding whether to require that attorneys tell clients when they don’t have malpractice insurance is proving extremely difficult for the California Bar Board of Governors.
After a confusing and contentious discussion Friday, board…
From Law.Con [sorry, we reprinted the entire blurb here]:
"Pillsbury Caught In Another Bankruptcy Conflict
Perhaps Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman needs to reevaluate its system for screening conflicts and disclosing material developments that may impact bankruptcy claims. Back in March, we mentioned that Pillsbury was the subject of a motion filed by the U.S. Trustee…
Arguments between insurers and reinsurers are a fertile area of litigation. Important decisions on attorney-client privilege have come from these cases, and in this particular report, Federal Ins. Co. v North Am. Specialty Ins. Co. ,2007 NY Slip Op 08391 ,Decided on November 8, 2007 ,Appellate Division, First Department , the issue of…
The Attorney judgment rule holds that no attorney may be held liable for a strategic decision which was reasonable both objectively and subjectively. This may include choices of questions at trial, selection of experts, choices of evidence.
Here is a story from Hinshaw, of a Michigan Case: Bowman v. Gruel Mills Nims & Pylman, LLP, 2007…
This case is all about Long Island law firms and a case against Computer Associates and Kaye Scholer. Plaintiff is reprsented by Tom Liotti, who is the defendant in a libel case we reported yesterday. Computer Associates and its employees are represented by anlther Long island law firm, Lynn & Gartner. Farrell Fritz rounds out…
Legal Malpractice can pop up in any number of situations, as we have said just last week. Here is a short blurb on a big dollar legal malpractice case in California, concerning Surfing Chicks, Paul Hastings, Kat House and trademarks.
"Too many ‘Surf Chicks’?
Los Angeles-based law firm Paul Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP has…
Hinshaw reports on Rudolf v. Shayne, Dachs, Stanisci, Corker & Sauer, 2007 WL 1213712 (N.Y. April 26, 2007) We discussed this case last April.
"The New York Court of Appeals recently held that a client was entitled to recover attorneys’ fees and expert witness costs incurred when his attorney’s error forced him to appeal…
