Firm News

Ineffective Assistance of Counsel ≠ Legal Malpractice

By Will Jordan A couple of weeks ago, inspired by the developing story of Adnan Syed, we wrote about the interplay between a criminal defendant’s request for post-conviction relief on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel and his claim for legal malpractice against his defense attorney. In that post, we wrote that “[i]n order […]

Firm News

NY Court Enforces Arbitration Agreement in Engagement Letter

By Will Jordan Client retained Attorney to represent him in two matters involving his service as a trustee. Client signed an engagement letter that provided that Attorney and Client would arbitrate “any dispute arising out of or relating to this agreement and/or the legal services rendered hereunder.” Client filed a lawsuit against Attorney, alleging legal […]

Firm News

On Proximate Causation and Foreseeability

By Will Jordan Apologies for the radio silence. We vowed not to allow this much time to pass in between posts, but the past week brought a trip to NY for a conference and a jury duty summons and, before we knew it, the vow was broken. But we’re back on track. Today we look […]

Firm News

The “No Harm, No Legal Mal” Defense

By Will Jordan In a legal malpractice case arising out of an attorney’s allegedly negligent handling of litigation, the crux of the legal malpractice case is proving that the outcome of the underlying case should have been different but for the attorney’s negligence. When a legal malpractice case arises out of allegedly negligent advice given […]

Firm News

The Case-Within-A-Case-Within-A-Case

By Will Jordan Remember that movie Inception? Truth be told, we could no more summarize its plot than read War and Peace in its original Russian. But, we know it had something to do with dreams within dreams within . . . you get the point. Today, we turn our attention to the Inception of […]

Firm News

Pennsylvania Legal Mal Case Dismissed for Discovery Abuse

By Will Jordan Law360 reports on the dismissal of a legal malpractice case due to discovery abuses by the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs alleged their attorneys incorrectly calculated the applicable statute of limitations for an underlying medical malpractice claim. After what appears to have been repeated failures to comply with the court’s discovery orders, including failing […]

Firm News

Staying the Legal Mal Case Pending Appeal of the Underlying Case

By Will Jordan There’s an interesting article at law360.com about an ongoing legal malpractice lawsuit filed by the developers of a Native American casino project in Oklahoma. The developers brought suit in the fall of 2013, claiming the firm’s negligent representation resulted in a federal court granting a temporary injunction against the proposed casino. At […]

Firm News

The Case-Within-A-Case Analysis is Objective, Not Subjective

By Will Jordan It’s a quiet day in the world of legal malpractice court decisions . . . nothing of great interest for us to report. Sigh. So, we’ll take this opportunity to remember an important feature of the familiar case-within-a-case doctrine: the standard is objective, not subjective. Courts have recognized that the test under […]

Firm News

Adnan Syed and the Interplay Between Legal Malpractice and Post-Conviction Relief

By Will Jordan Imagine our delight when the words “Adnan Syed” popped up on our Facebook timeline yesterday. Six months after completing our binge of the Serial podcast, which told the tale of Adnan’s conviction for the murder of his high school classmate and ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, there finally is an update. And the […]

Firm News

No Liability for Failing to Advise Clients on Item Clients Could Have Discovered by Reading Their Insurance Policy

By Will Jordan Clients brought a legal malpractice action against their attorney, alleging the attorney failed to advise them that a claim against their home insurer had to be filed within one year of the date of the loss. The Court affirmed summary judgment in favor of the attorney, noting that the insurance policy expressly […]