Attorneys refer and have cases referred to them all the time.  Attorney to attorney referrals are the lifeblood of the law industry, and referral fees are not uncommon.  The law of attorney fees is a body unto itself, and legal malpractice involving referred cases is not uncommon.  Here is a Third Department Case Whalen v.

Following the trend of bankruptcy trustees, receivers and other persons holding the right to sue for others, comes this Indiana case in which the Indiana Department of Insurance has become the plaintiff in a legal malpractice/bad faith litigation which the law firm settled for $ 50,000 and which now proceeds against the insurer for $ 18,000,000.…

This case from the Appellate Term illustrates the timelyness of a counterclaim.  It does not discuss what would have happened if the counterclaim were not timely.  Even an untimely counterclaim may continue as an offset to the claim itself, but may not be pursued for a value above that of the claim.  Example;  Claim =…

Alan Birnbaum, appellant, v James Misiano, et al., respondents. (
SUPREME COURT OF NEW YORK, APPELLATE DIVISION, SECOND DEPARTMENT

2008 NY Slip Op 5638;

Beginning in the late 1990’s, the defendant attorney James Misiano represented the plaintiff, [*2] Alan Birnbaum, with respect to loans Birnbaum made, or was planning to make, to others. In…

Privity is an essential in legal malpractice, and application of this principal can lead to skewed results.  As an example, attorney writes negligent will for decedent, which affects beneficiaries and the decedent’s estate.  May beneficiaries sue?  May estate sue?  Sometimes not.  Here, divorced wife is affected by the manner in which an attorney drafts a…

Judiciary Law 487 is a statute which defines a misdemeanor and creates a private cause of action, with treble damages,
§487. Misconduct by attorneys.

An attorney or counselor who:

1. Is guilty of any deceit or collusion, or consents to any
deceit or collusion, with intent to deceive the court or any party; or,…

The California Blog of Appeal discusses this amusing attempt by a target attorney to get out from under a legal malpractice case. Styles v. Mumbert is a California case in which…well, let Greg May describe it:

"You represent the defendant in a lawsuit. You don’t have time to handle his case — indeed, you admit…

Plaintiff retained a big name matrimonial firm to represent her.  Then she hired a legal malpractice firm to sue the matrimonial firm.  The legal malpractice case was dismissed.  Apparently she did not want to pay the legal malpractice firm who moved for a quantum meruit fee hearing.

In 2008 NY Slip Op 5647,  Eileen DeGregorio…