May the defendant attorney collect attorney fees for the successful defense of a legal malpractice case? One would immediately think not. The "American Rule" is that each side pays for its own attorneys, and the blackletter rule in NY is that absent an agreement or a statute, attorney fees are not collectible.
Here is a case, Lok…
ROBERTO BERAS, Plaintiff-Appellant, -v.- STEPHANIE M. CARVLIN, ROBERT C. GOTTLIEB, MARK STEIN, THE FIRM FRIED, FRANK, HARRIS, SHRIVER, AND JACOBSON, CHARLES A. ROSS, THE FIRM OF BRAFMAN & ROSS, Defendants-Appellees.;No. 07-2514-cv;UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT;2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 19805
is a prime example of pro-se litigation in legal malpractice. It…
Collateral Estoppel and Legal Malpractice have an interesting intertwining existence. Put briefly, once an attorney is awarded a legal fee [by a court, an arbitrator, or a judicial hearing officer] a subsequent legal malpractice case fails on the basis that a court has already implicitly determined that there can be no legal malpractice, because no…
Here is a pdf version of the Oxman v Herman Sloan Robarge & Sullivan, LLP case, which is a not unusual matrimonial legal malpractice case, As in many of these cases, plaintiff-wife believes that her attorney has insufficiently investigated the assets of her husband, to the extent that she has been significantly short-changed in…
Legal malpractice is a world within itself. Beyond the obvious small universe of defendants, all attorneys of course, and the unique rules, the serious questions are almost always how the underlying case was lost, and could it have been won. While much litigation today centers on meta data and electronic discovery, most of legal malpractice…
Legal Malpractice in Hollywood should come as no surprise. We’ve commented on the widespread omnipresence of legal malpractice litigation, but had no idea we would be quoting Variety on the subject. Here is their report on legal malpractice and the "9 to 5" screen, stage and trust saga as well as the cult classic Harold …
As the economy has sunk, it is expected that legal malpractice cases will increase. One reason is that cases previously thought to be unworthy will garner new luster; another is that in commercial circumstances there will be opportunities for cases. Here is one example which did not work out for plaintiff. As more sub-prime lending…
This case illustrates the difference between legal malpractice and all other litigation, the "case within a case." Defendant attorneys admitted that they allowed a case to go into default, yet were successful in avoiding liability. Their defense? Even if we made the mistake, plaintiff could not have won the case after all.
From NY Lawyer comes…
For an attorney, being sued is a traumatic event. Ones advice and acts are being criticized, and a former client is claiming injury as a result of your professional work. Not a good feeling. What could be worse? How about being arrested for giving advice to a client?
In this case, Vinluan v. Doyle…
We’ve noted in the past that many legal malpractice cases arise when attorneys work outside of their zone of experience. As an example, there are unique rules for medical malpractice which do not exist elsewhere. A certificate of merit is required to be filed with the complaint, and the failure to file it can have…
