A Primer on the Texas Bar Disciplinary System | Seana Willing | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Polsinelli Podcast - Avoiding Professional Liability
An appellate court in Illinois declined to expand the scope of the third-party beneficiary theory espoused in Pelham v. Griesheimer, 92 Ill.2d 13 (1982) and affirmed summary judgment in favor of the law firm and its partners....more
“Legal malpractice claim.” No attorney wants to hear these three dreaded words, but a malpractice claim is an unfortunate possibility when working within the legal field. Knowing more about the issues that can prompt a...more
China Auto Logistics, Inc. v. DLA Piper, LLP, Case No. 2:20-cv-00646, USDC, Dist. Nevada, March 3, 2021 - A Nevada federal judge tossed a legal malpractice suit against a global firm, finding that the firm was not subject...more
Winning at the blame game is difficult to do. This holds especially true where the “blame game” is actually a claim for legal malpractice. ...more
Insurance Coverage – Computer Fraud – E-Mail "Spoofing" - Trick or Treat Editors' Note: Does anything cause deeper mortal terror than the prospect of an uncovered loss? In a tale that has an all-too infrequent happy ending...more
In June, the South Carolina Supreme Court addressed waiver of the attorney-client privilege in bad faith refusal to provide coverage cases and found that, under South Carolina law, an insurer that asserts its subjective...more
Clients and lawyers asserting claims against each other can waive privilege protection without disclosing any privileged communications. But such implied or "at issue" waivers often require balancing of participants'...more
Last week, the South Carolina Supreme Court handed down a monumental opinion; one which, in the words of appellant’s counsel, changes 200 years of common law....more
The attorney-client privilege is one of the cornerstones of the legal profession. Despite the privilege’s sacrosanct nature, there are exceptions to the well-established rule that the communications between an attorney and...more
Client Intake — Due Diligence — Liability to Parties Other than Client — Holding Funds in Trust - P&P Property Ltd. V. Owen White & Catlin LLP, et al. 2016 WL 05484797 (English High Ct. of Justice, Chancery Div. 2016) - ...more
The Holding - In Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc., v. The Honorable Christopher Whitten, 2017 WL 4296583 (Ariz. App. Sep. 28, 2017) (774 Ariz. Adv. Rep.4), the Arizona Court of Appeals just held that a legal malpractice...more
Attorney-Client Privilege – Invoices to Public Entity Client – Ongoing Litigation - Los Angeles Cty. Bd. of Supervisors v. Superior Court, 2 Cal. 5th 282, 386 P.3d 773 (2016) - Risk Management Issue: May a law firm's...more
Law firms are slowly but steadily moving to the cloud. According to an American Bar Association report, 37.5% of lawyers reported the use of web-based software services or solutions in 2016, up from 31% in 2015, and 30% in...more
In a December 5, 2016 decision, a Connecticut trial court (Huddleston, J.) addressed the limitations on the Connecticut Commissioner of Consumer Protection in enforcing a so-called "investigative demand" served under the...more
Last week marked the first time a U.S. law firm was publicly named in a class action data security lawsuit. Originally filed in April 2016, the class action complaint in Shore v. Johnson & Bell, Ltd., 16-cv-4363 (N.D. Ill.),...more
Aiding and Abetting the Unauthorized Practice of Law — Conducting a Due Diligence Background Check for Incoming Lawyers and Lateral Hires - The Case: Kimberly Kitchen began working at BMZ Law PC part-time in 2005. She...more
While attorneys provide legal advice to their clients, they are sometimes the recipients of such advice from their own counsel, including in-house firm counsel. Agreeing with recent decisions by the highest courts of Georgia...more
July 7, 2016 David P. Atkins On June 30, 2016, the New York State Appellate Division for the First Department (Manhattan) issued a significant decision on the scope of the so-called in-firm attorney-client privilege....more
Conflicts of Interest — Subject Matter Conflicts — Can IP Attorneys Simultaneously Represent Two Clients That Are Prosecuting Patents for Similar Inventions? - Maling v. Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner,...more
Baker v. Wood, Ris & Hames, Professional Corporation, 364 P. 3d 872 (January 16, 2016) - Brief Summary - Colorado Supreme Court, en banc, analyzed whether dissatisfied beneficiaries of a testator-client's estate...more
The number of lawsuits against trust, probate and estate planning attorneys has significantly increased over the last several years. Today, trust, probate and estate planing attorneys are charged with legal malpractice and...more
In Anten v. Superior Court (No. B258437 – Filed 1/30/2015), the Second Appellate District held that when joint clients do not sue each other, but one of them sues their former attorney, the nonsuing client cannot prevent the...more
In a case of first impression in California, Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP v. Superior Court (No. B255182 - filed November 25, 2014), Division Three of the Second District Court of Appeal addressed the question of whether the...more
1. Do you “reply to all” on emails? Should you? With the ease of email communications, thought needs to be given before you respond to an email and hit “reply to all.” With traditional correspondence by mail to opposing...more