Over the years, I have thought about this a bit. My current answer to this question is to be mindful of your own emotions when dealing with clients. If a client criticizes you unfairly or makes you angry, stop writing that letter or email and let things cool off. You…
Illinois does not require a lawyer to have insurance. However, the ARDC requests that you inform it each year whether or not you have insurance. My advice to the public is that you should never hire a lawyer who is uninsured. First, if something goes wrong, you have little chance…
There are a number of issues that you should consider before you file a legal malpractice claim against a lawyer. Your lawyer should discuss these issues with you so that you understand how to proceed: Did the lawyer cause your harm or was it caused by someone or something else?…
In Flusser v. Bikel, 2019 NY Slip Op 32847(U), the plaintiff was involved in a contentious divorce. She discharged one firm and then hired the Defendant law firm (Bikel v. Mandarano) to represent her. At the conclusion of the divorce case, Plaintiff filed a legal malpractice claim against the Defendant…
Two law professors, Robert Anderson IV and Derek Muller, have published “The High Cost of Lowering the Bar,” in the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics. It can be found in Volume 32, page 307 of that law review. Anderson and Muller argue, based on statistical evidence that lowering the bar…
The case is captioned American Inter-Fidelity Exchange v. Hope, 17 C 7934, the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois rejected a law firm’s summary judgment motion based on the doctrine of judicial error. Usually, if there is a judicial error, that would constitute a defense to a legal…
In Parkinson v. Bevis, (Docket No. 46269), the Idaho Supreme Court reinstated an equitable disgorgement action filed by a client against her former divorce attorney. Parkinson filed a claim for breach of fiduciary duty against her former attorney, alleging that he wrongfully revealed a confidential email to her ex-husband’s attorney…
An engagement letter can be very important in that it sets limits on the attorney-client relationship. A good engagement letter defines what the lawyer will do and what the lawyer will not do. In the case captioned, Attallah v. Milbank Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, 168 A.D.3d 1026 (2019), 93 N.Y.S.3d…
This case, Ostrolenk Faber LLP v. Sakar International, Inc., 2019 NY Slip Op 31303(U), holds that a counterclaim for legal malpractice against an intellectual property firm stated a claim. Sakar retained Ostrolenk to defend it in a patent infringement lawsuit. In the underlying case, a plaintiff alleged that a product…
One of the more common issues that arise in a legal malpractice case is when did the claim arise? In Schwab v. Zarhadnik, 18-1118, the Iowa Court of Appeals held that a divorce malpractice claim accrued on the date of the divorce decree. Plaintiff alleged that her attorney failed to…