A Primer on the Texas Bar Disciplinary System | Seana Willing | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Polsinelli Podcast - Avoiding Professional Liability
An attorney cannot be liable for failing act outside the scope of the retainer agreement. Kohler v. Polsky, 219 AD3d 821, 822 (2d Dept 2023) - The plaintiff had retained the defendant-attorney for representation in a workers’...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
Iavor Stoyanov v. Himont Law Group, Ltd., et al., 2024 IL App (1st) 221434-U (April 15, 2024) - Brief Summary - The First District Appellate Court in Illinois held that the trial court (Judge Patrick J. Sherlock) was correct...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
Plaintiffs in the case were creditors of William von Thaden, who was married to Kimberly von Thaden until their divorce in 2017. The defendant, Michael I. Flores (defendant), represented Kimberly in the underlying divorce...more
As the litigation environment for directors and officers gets more intense, in-house lawyers are asking the question: Do I need malpractice insurance? It’s a good question. If needed, the type of insurance in-house counsel...more
The Texas Bar is a self-regulating entity—it handles attorney discipline through a unique procedural process. Although most attorneys steer clear of professional discipline, it’s important for practitioners to know about the...more
Lemos v. Sessa, No. 3D20-1362, 2021 Fla. App. LEXIS 4527 (Dist. Ct. App. Mar. 31, 2021) - Brief Summary A Florida appellate court held that plaintiff was required to arbitrate her claims against the attorney and her law...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
In consolidated appeals, a New Jersey appellate court affirmed the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants in a legal malpractice action, finding the law firm had only represented the company (a limited...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
These days, more employers than ever are purchasing Employment Practices Liability Insurance (“EPLI”) to cover them in the event they get sued for employment-related claims. (See our earlier posting on that topic: “A Handy...more
The pervasiveness of technology in our everyday lives is unmistakable. The next time you walk down a city street, go out for coffee or spend time at a family gathering, take a moment, and reflect upon the number of people on...more
In his Daily Journal article, Partner Stephen Squillario discusses the potential escape hatch that is provided by C.C.P. Section 473(b) when an attorney's mistake, inadvertence, surprise or neglect has harmed the client. ...more
Real Property Update - - Chapter 720 / Prevailing Party Fees: developer that successfully defended against association’s lawsuit for declaratory and injunctive relief was properly awarded prevailing party attorneys’ fees...more
The American Law Institute voted on May 22, 2018 to approve the final draft of its “Restatement of the Law of Liability Insurance.” This was the culmination of an eight-year project that evolved through 29 drafts resulting in...more
• The American Bar Association's (ABA) Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility recently released Formal Opinion 481 addresses the question when a lawyer who has made a mistake must tell the client about...more
On the heels of the recent Petya ransomware attack, which infected DLA Piper's IT systems, a superb analysis by Peter Norman of the ABA's Formal Opinion 17-477R on lawyers' ethical responsibilities when using information...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
Joint Clients — Confidentiality — Right to See Clients' File - New York State Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics Opinion 1070 (10/9/15) - Risk Management Issue: In a joint client representation, if one...more
Simultaneous representation by a law firm in the prosecution of patents for two clients for similar inventions is not a per se violation of the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct. On December 23, in Chris E....more