Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) › Professional Malpractice

Reinsurance Redux - May 2013

In This Issue: - District of New Jersey Stays Medical Malpractice Suit Pending Arbitration: Finding that a dispute between a medical malpractice insurer and a reinsurance underwriter fell squarely within the...more

Law Firm Engagement Letter Arbitration Clauses: A Higher Standard Required?

Should law firms be required to meet heightened standards before they are able to contract with clients to arbitrate malpractice lawsuits? If so, how high should these standards be? ...more

Trial lawyers beware of the in terrorem trust clause: A nasty trap that can keep on springing.

An “in terrorem” or “no-contest” clause in a trust instrument provides for the forfeiture or reduction of the equitable property interest of a beneficiary who contests the arrangement. In a recent New Hampshire case, Shelton,...more

Broemmer v. Abortion Services of Phoenix, Ltd. - Arizona’s Curious Contribution to the Law of Contractual Arbitration By Barry D....

Originally published in Arizona Attorney - December 2012. October 2012 marked the 20th anniversary of the Arizona Supreme Court’s opinion in Broemmer v. Abortion Services of Phoenix, Ltd. In the two decades since...more

Attorney Gambles Chasing Fees and Loses Big

Originally published in Litigation News, American Bar Association (November 2012). As lawyers often advise their clients, any litigation involves some element of risk, and “there is no such thing as a slam dunk.” A...more

Arbitration Agreements: Bad for Consumers, Good for Nursing Homes

Last month, Kaiser Health News published a story about mandatory arbitration agreements in nursing home contracts. Such agreements are common when signing up for services such as credit cards and cell phones. Increasingly,...more

Block Billing by Law Firms Costs Clients Millions in Just Three Lawsuits

In August 2012, three different courts issued rulings which hold that vague, block billed time entries—which have long been the bread-and-butter of most law firms—just aren't a very accurate or reliable reflection of how much...more

Wrongful Death

UPDATED THROUGH SEPTEMBER 4, 2012 Product Liability – Tobacco. In an action by individual class member, did the trial court err in application of finding reached by jury and affirmed by Florida Supreme Court in class...more

Arbitration

UPDATED THROUGH September 4, 2012 Statute of Frauds – Arbitration. Question Certified: Does section 95.011, Florida Statutes apply to arbitration when the parties have not expressly included a provision in their...more

Ten Things You Need to Know About Law Firm Billing

This article briefly explains how nearly all corporate clients are overbilled by their lawyers. In fact, according to the California State Bar, if your lawyers bill by the hour, then you’re likely being overbilled by...more

Supreme Court Rules Consumers Can’t Sue Nursing Homes

Nursing homes are free to use binding arbitration agreements in their contracts with residents, barring victims and their families from suing the homes even in extreme cases of personal injury and wrongful death, the Supreme...more

Mediation and Arbitration have their limitations when it comes to trust disputes.

Unless the fiduciary issues and the representation issues in a trust dispute are properly sorted out in advance, there is a very real risk that an ill-considered rush to mediate or arbitrate will prove an expensive and...more

McReynolds v. Krebs

Georgia Supreme Court Rules on Apportionment of Damages

The Georgia Supreme Court ruled that Georgia's modified comparative fault scheme is to be applied even in cases in which the plaintiff bears no fault....more

Dzwonkowski v. Spinella: Law Firm Prevailing in Arbitration Entitled to Recover Fees for Services Rendered by “Of Counsel”...

In a published decision, the Court of Appeal (Fourth Appellate District, Division Three) has held that a law firm which prevailed in mandatory fee arbitration against a former client was entitled to an award of attorney’s...more

Court Grant’s Petition to Compel Arbitration Filed by Non-Signatory Investment Advisor

In Robinson v. Isaacs, 2011 U.S Dist. LEXIS 118070, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California granted a petition to compel arbitration filed an investment advisor who was not a signatory to the advisory...more

Recent Rulings Concerning the Mandatory Fee Arbitration Act

Two recent California Court of Appeal decisions–one of them published–address the procedure for requesting a trial de novo following the issuance of an arbitration award under the Mandatory Fee Arbitration Act (MFAA) (Bus. &...more

Agency Allegation in Malpractice Complaint Results in Right to Arbitrate by Non-Signatory to Arbitration Agreement

A former client brought a complaint for legal malpractice against several attorneys. Some were signatories to an arbitration agreement with the client, but one was not. In response to a petition to compel arbitration brought...more

MCLE Self-Study Article Mediation Confidentiality and Legal Malpractice: Cassel v. Superior Court

Suppose that during mediation a defendant offers plaintiff a million dollar settlement. The plaintiff ’s lawyer, who thinks the money is a fraction of the case’s value, advises the client not to accept the million, and...more

California Supreme Court Refuses to Create Exception to Mediation Privilege, Prohibiting Disclosure of Attorney Communications in...

The California Supreme Court recently held in Cassel v. Superior Court, 51 Cal. 4th 113 (2011), that California’s statutory mediation privilege prevents the disclosure of private communications between an attorney and...more

Augusta v. Keehn & Associates: Delay and Taking Steps in Superior Court Inconsistent with Right to Arbitrate Results in Waiver of...

In a published decision issued by the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One, the Court of Appeal addressed the issue of whether the trial court properly dismissed a petition to compel arbitration...more

Lawyer-Client Talks Relating to Mediation Cannot Be Used to Prove Malpractice Claim

Lawyer's Manual on Professional Conduct examines the recent SCOCA decision in Cassel v. Supreme Court (Wasserman, Comden, Casselman & Pearson LLP) and the issue of confidentiality in mediation with regards to legal...more

Cassel v. Superior Court: Supreme Court Rules that Mediation Confidentiality Shields Attorneys From Claims Based on Mediation...

Reversing a decision of the Court of Appeal, the California Supreme Court has held that under Evidence Code section 1119, “all discussions conducted in preparation for a mediation, as well as all mediation-related...more

A Unanimous CA Supreme Court Upholds Mediation Confidentiality

In Cassel v. Superior Court (Wasserman Comden Casselman & Pearson), the California Supreme Court evaluated the mediation confidentiality created by Evidence Code, § 1119, which prevents the admission of “evidence of...more

Court Confirms Arbitration Award in Favor of Law Firm Even Though Firm Did Not File Petition to Compel Arbitration

The grounds on which a binding arbitration award may be challenged in court are very limited, and a recent attack on an award against a former law-firm client was unsuccessful. In Vigilant v. Lamprey (First Appellate...more

INFORMATION ON ATTORNEY-CLIENT FEE AFTER ARBITRATION

THIS DOCUMENT COVERS:Information Regarding Rights After Attorney-Client Fee Arbitration (Alternative Dispute Resolution) ...more