This case was decided by the Illinois Supreme Court in October 2014. Plaintiffs alleged that the defendants committed legal malpractice when they failed to preserve a cause of action under the Illinois Securities Law against an investment firm. Plaintiffs alleged that the lawyers failed to file a rescission claim in…
Chicago Legal Malpractice Lawyer Blog
Appellate Court Rejects Collateral Estoppel Defense To Legal Malpractice Claim
In the appeal captioned, Stevens v. McGuirewoods, LLP, 2014 IL App (1st) 13-3952, the Illinois Appellate Court reversed a grant of summary judgment in favor of McGuirewoods. The Appellate Court held that the trial court erred in applying collateral estoppel to bar the claims. In their complaint against McGuireWoods, the…
Attorneys Lose Lien Dispute When They Fail to Serve the Lien On The Opposing Party
Randy M. Brown v. Universal Realty Group, et al. 2010 L 008953, 2014 IL App (1st) 1420241-U. This is an unpublished opinion by the First District, Sixth Division, affirming a decision of the circuit court of cook county, which adjudicated an attorney’s lien of Brooks, Tarulis & Tibble (BT&T) to…
This ABA Ethics Opinion Makes Me Sad About the State of the Legal Profession
It’s unethical for prosecutors to lend out letterhead to debt collectors, ABA opinion says. The ABA has issued an ethics opinion (No. 469) which provides that prosecutors should not lend their stationery to debt collectors. Some prosecutors were lending their letterhead to debt collectors who were then using the letterhead…
Former Navy Seal Sues His Lawyers For Legal Malpractice
Former Navy SEAL, Author of Bin Laden Best Seller, May Face Costly Penalties, Lawyer Says – NYTimes.com. The former Navy Seal who wrote a book on the Bin Laden raid has filed a legal malpractice lawsuit against his former lawyers. He alleges that the lawyers were negligent in failing to…
Indiana Court Holds That County Commissioners Can Sue Their Attorney For Legal Malpractice
VISSING v. CLARK COUNTY BOARD OF AVIATION COMMISSIONERS, Ind: Court of Appeals 2014 – Google Scholar. The malpractice lawsuit arose out of an effort to claim, by eminent domain, certain property, which was to be used to an airport. In 2009, the Clark County Aviation Board attempted to purchase land…
Chicago Law Firm Loses Jurisdictional Battle
Dillon v. MURPHY & HOURIHANE, LLP, Dist. Court, ND California 2014 – Google Scholar. The plaintiff brought the legal malpractice action in federal court in San Jose. The defendant law firm moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and, in the alternative, for transfer of the case to Illinois.…
No one ever told me I had to research the law!
In a recent decision, Bluestein v. Central Wisconsin Anesthesiology, S.C., Nos. 13-3724, 14-1256 and 14-1257, the Seventh Circuit upheld the dismissal of Bluestein’s claim that she was wrongly terminated in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 12101, et seq. and other civil rights statutes. The problem…
A Word of Advice – Don’t Let Nonlawyers Use Your Electronic Filing Password
Matter of Davis 2014 NY Slip Op 07080. A bankruptcy lawyer was disciplined for allowing a third party to use his electronic login to file bankruptcy petitions. The pertinent part of the opinion states: “At issue were four involuntary bankruptcy petitions filed between June and December 2011 against debtor Joseph…
ARDC Charges Lawyer Stole From Trusts For His Own Kids
BEFORE THE HEARING BOARD. If true, this is an ugly awful tale in which a lawyer, Robert M. Stephenson, stole from trusts established by his parents for the benefit of his own children. The key allegations are set forth in the complaint: “1. In May 2007, Respondent agreed to serve…