Here is an article from Outside Counsel at the NYLJ, by Ronald D. Bratt,a law professor and the principal law clerk to Kings Supreme Justice Arthur M. Schack. It discusses the Ct.App. case in which the complaint was dismissed for failure to prosecute. This was not your typical case, and is food for thought. The
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Question of Fact on Continuous Representation in Legal Malpractice
Here is a case from California, reported by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP: “Lawyer’s Failure to Advise of Non-Representation Created Issue of Fact Regarding Continued Representation
Gabriela Gonzalez vs. Emelikei Kalu, 140 Cal. App. 4th 21, 43 Cal. Rptr. 3rd 866 (June 2006)
The defendant attorney agreed to handle plaintiff’s sexual harassment claim against her employer.…
Estate Legal Malpractice Case Dismissed in NY
From the NYLJ: “A Manhattan appellate court has dismissed a legal malpractice suit on behalf of an elderly man who claimed his lawyers misled him into signing away control of his estate, but a dissenting judge said the majority’s decision “risks undermining the confidence of the public in the profession.”
Jack E. Maurer, who died…
The End of the Attorney-Client Relationship
It is the general rule in the US that a client may end the attorney-client relationship for any reason, good or bad. After the client ends the relationship, it is for a court to determine whether the termination was for cause or without cause.
Continue Reading The End of the Attorney-Client Relationship
Liability to Third Parties in Legal Malpractice
Here is an interesting blog blurb by Cassandra Crotty on two different state views on lawyer’s liability to third-parties [no privity – they were not clients. One is from Illinois and one from Oregon. Blurb.
Cases kept Secret include Legal Malpractice
“Today’s installment of “Your Courts, Their Secrets,” a Seattle Times investigation of inappropriate secrecy in Washington courts” reveals stories that otherwise would never have come to light. One includes a hidden rogue teacher incident. Others, like this story, involves legal actions that keep the public from knowing what government is doing. Other stories have dealt…
Kept off the Bench over Legal Malpractice?
In days past Boston was known for mayors who served from inside jail. Here is a story in a similar vein. The leader in this judicial campaign may be kept off the bench for a legal malpractice/disciplinary problem.
“A deal struck with a southwest Alabama circuit judge candidate in a disciplinary action concerning his handling…
Divorce Settlement Cannot be Scuttled for Lori Kojovic
Lora Kojovic, divorced from Neal Goldman found out one month after signing a divorce settlement that her former husband’s company was worth $18 million. She tried to vacate the settlement, and has now lost in the Appellate Division.
Justice Sullivan says that “The Wife has only herself to blame for her failure to inquire further.”…
Stealing a Medical Malpractice Settlement
Client was awarded $245,000 in a medical malpractice case. Good? Shortly afterwards, this attorney is said to have taken the proceeds and left town. Details.
First Legal Malpractice, Now Withholding e-mails
Anthony Lin in the NYLJ writes that:
“The church group suing Weil, Gotshal & Manges for allegedly steering it into a “disastrous” bankruptcy is accusing the firm of withholding from discovery e-mail correspondence of the partner who led the 2004 Chapter 11 filing. The St. Louis-based National Benevolent Association, which sued Weil Gotshal in…