A Primer on the Texas Bar Disciplinary System | Seana Willing | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Polsinelli Podcast - Avoiding Professional Liability
Wire transfer fraud is on the rise, and attorneys are increasingly becoming prime targets for cybercriminals. With billions lost annually to fraudulent transactions, legal professionals who fail to implement robust...more
Consider the following hypothetical. A corporate client hires a lawyer in connection with purchasing a controlling interest in an LLC. The lawyer structures the deal to lower the client's tax liability based on his assumption...more
We often settle legal malpractice claims before they result in a publicly filed lawsuit. Many of our clients, who are lawyers, want to avoid a public lawsuit, but once a suit is filed, they want to be vindicated by a...more
GMG Ins. Agency v. Margolis Edelstein, 2024 WL 1688869 (Del. Apr. 19, 2024) - Update: Prior to publication of this alert, the Delaware Supreme Court vacated its earlier opinion in GMG Ins. Agency v. Margolis Edelstein, 2024...more
N.W.M. through J.M. v. Langenbach, --- A.3d --- (Pa. 2024), 2024 WL 2788173 (Pa. May 31, 2024) - The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that a guardian ad litem (GAL), an attorney appointed to represent the legal interests and...more
Bryan Dick-Ipsen v. Humphrey, Farrington & McClain, P.C., et al., 2024 IL App (1st) 241043 - Brief Summary - The First District Appellate Court in Illinois affirmed the trial court's denial of a defendant law firm's motion to...more
Michael Freude v. Jeffrey M. Berzowski and Di Renzo & Bomier, LLC., No. 2023 AP 764 (Wis. App. August 7, 2024) - Brief Summary - The plaintiff sued two defendants for legal malpractice related to an allegedly time-barred...more
Chamblee Ryan, P.C. v. JBS Carrier, Inc., No. 12-23-00125-CV (Tex. App. — Tyler June 12, 2024) - Brief Summary - Plaintiff, JBS Carriers, Inc. (“JBS”), sued Chamblee Ryan, P.C. (the “defendant”) for legal malpractice related...more
Some conflicts of interest are easy to spot. Most lawyers recognize, for example, that a lawyer cannot act as an advocate in one case against a person the lawyer represents in another case, even if the matters are unrelated. ...more
Last week, the State Bar of California filed an 11 Count Notice of Disciplinary Charges against John Eastman for “legal” services rendered to former President Donald Trump and others promoting the idea that the 2020...more
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
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania considered whether plaintiff's legal malpractice claims against defendants—her former attorneys—were barred under the court's decision in Muhammad v. Strassburger, McKenna, Messer, Shilobod &...more
Firm Administration – Expense Reporting – Oversight – Discipline - Trick or Treat Editors' Note: Aside from a global pandemic, is there anything more bizarre and troubling than lawyers stealing seemingly paltry sums from...more
Prospective Clients – Duty of Confidentiality – Potentially Harmful or Disqualifying Information ABA Formal Opinion 492 (June 9, 2020) - Risk Management Issue: When dealing with prospective clients, what steps can a lawyer...more
The plaintiff sued its former lawyer and law firm for legal malpractice. The defendants moved to dismiss and compel arbitration based on a mandatory arbitration clause in the parties’ engagement agreement. The trial court...more
Representing the Estate Executor – Ethical Duty – Confidentiality – Withdrawal - New York State Bar Association Ethics Opinion No. 1194 - Risk Management Issue: Does a lawyer for an estate executor have an ethical duty...more
Confidentiality – Electronically Stored Information – Unauthorized Access - The State Bar of California's Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct Formal Opinion Interim 16-0002 - Risk Management...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
Bethel v. Quilling, Selander, Lownds, Winslett & Moser, P.C., (Feb. 21, 2020, No. 18-0595) 2020 Tex. LEXIS 139 - Brief Summary - The Texas Supreme Court held that a claim over an attorney's alleged destruction of evidence...more
Zander v. Carlson, 2019 IL App (1st) 181868, November 21, 2019 - Union-appointed lawyers are immune from malpractice lawsuits filed by formerly represented union members, an Illinois appeals court has affirmed. The First...more
Not long ago, The LLC Jungle posted an article addressing the perils of attorney representation of an LLC with two equal “co-managing members.” See Why Having “Co-Managers” for Your LLC is a Terrible Idea. This post...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