A Primer on the Texas Bar Disciplinary System | Seana Willing | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Polsinelli Podcast - Avoiding Professional Liability
That’s the question on the minds of many in the legal malpractice community after a noteworthy decision in Pennsylvania. It’s probably reasonable to assume — at least from the defense standpoint — that the success rate of a...more
It’s probably reasonable to assume — at least from the defense standpoint — that the success rate of a statute of limitations (SOL) defense to a legal malpractice claim is virtually zero. This may be more so in some...more
Davis, et. al. v. Hayes Hofler, P.A., 2024 N.C. App. LEXIS 11 (Ct. App. January 2, 2024) - Brief Summary - The North Carolina Court of Appeals aligned itself with the minority view by holding that the continuous...more
A federal judge for the Southern District of New York declined to reconsider his dismissal of Link Motion's legal malpractice suit against DLA Piper, finding that its motion inappropriately relitigated issues already decided...more
Brief Summary - The Georgia Court of Appeals held that the continuous representation rule does not apply to legal malpractice actions. Thus, plaintiff's claims against his attorneys based on their alleged negligence in...more
Brief Summary - Three brothers—Bruce, Brad, and Brian Brandolino (plaintiffs)—held remainder interests in a piece of real property (Property) which their father sold to a bank in 2005. In 2019, plaintiffs sued the...more
Plaintiff, Michael Koumjian (plaintiff), claims he was harassed on the job for his ethnicity and fired when he complained to his employer. When he hired an attorney (defendant) to represent him in a lawsuit against his former...more
The Illinois Supreme Court held that hiring new counsel and incurring legal fees did not, by itself, trigger the two-year statute of limitations to file a legal malpractice action (735 ILCS 5/13-214.3(b)) because plaintiffs...more
An Illinois appellate court held that: (1) plaintiffs' motion to amend their complaint was properly denied where the six-year statute of repose (735 ILCS 5/13-214.3(c)) barred the proposed amended claims based (in part) on...more
An Illinois appellate court held that plaintiffs' legal malpractice claim, which accrued as soon as his business partners learned of their wrongfully caused injuries, was barred by the two-year statute of limitations. ...more
Brief Summary An Illinois appellate court held that the statute of repose barred a plaintiff's legal malpractice claim, and that the plaintiff's claim of fraudulent concealment to toll the statute failed. The court also...more
Flintlock Constr. Servs, LLC v. Rubin, Fiorella & Friedman, LLP, 2020 NY Slip Op 06711 (App. Div.). Brief Summary - After plaintiff's initial legal malpractice action was dismissed as premature because the underlying...more
A Wisconsin appellate court held that to pursue a legal malpractice claim against a criminal defense attorney, the former client only has to show actual innocence to some, not all, of the charges for which he or she was...more
An Illinois appellate court held that plaintiffs' malpractice action was time-barred because plaintiffs knew, or reasonably should have known, of their wrongfully caused damages more than two years before they filed. The...more
Summary judgment entered in the attorney defendant's favor on grounds of lack of causation in a legal malpractice case was upheld by a Texas court of appeal where plaintiffs' expert's opinions regarding proximate cause were...more
McNellis-Wallace v. Hoffman, et. al., Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, Docket No. A-1488-19T1 - Brief Summary - A New Jersey appellate court held that a defendant in a malpractice case could not maintain a...more
Skindzelewski v. Smith, 2020 WI 57 (June 18, 2020) - Brief Summary - A Wisconsin plaintiff's legal malpractice action against his former criminal defense attorney was shot down by the Wisconsin Supreme Court because he...more
Huyen Nguyen v. Karen Ellen Ford, No. H046809, 2020 Cal. App. LEXIS 411, at *1 (Ct. App. Apr. 24, 2020). Brief Summary - The court held that plaintiff's claims for legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty against her...more
Cahn v. Word, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 193 (10th Cir. Jan. 6, 2020) - Brief Summary - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that the four year statute of limitations applicable to legal malpractice actions in...more
Sharon v. Porter, California Fourth Appellate District Case No. G056706 (September 18, 2019) - Brief Summary - The Sharon case is a cautionary tale that absent a tolling agreement or continued representation, the...more
Edward Shrock, et. al. v. Ungaretti & Harris, Ltd., et. al., 2019 IL App (1st) 181698 - Brief Summary - The First District Appellate Court in Illinois upheld the dismissal of a legal malpractice action brought by a...more
Bush v. Eichholz et al., A19A1388 (Ga. Ct. App. Aug. 16, 2019) - Brief Summary - A personal injury client brought suit against its former law firm for legal malpractice. Because the client terminated the representation...more
D'Elia v. Law, 2019 N.J.Super.Unpub.LEXIS 1235 (N.J. App. Div. May 30, 2019) - Brief Summary - An attorney who failed to file a demand for arbitration on behalf of a client within the applicable statute of limitations...more
Arch Ins. Co. v. Kubicki Draper, LLP, 2019 Fla. App. LEXIS 886 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Jan. 23, 2019) - The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal held that an insurer does not have standing to sue defense counsel for legal...more
Can substitution of a new plaintiff who has proper standing cause “surprise or prejudice” to a defendant after the statute of limitations would have expired, such that leave to file an amended complaint should be denied?...more