Legal Developments and Risk Management Tips Impacting the Professional Liability Community.
Key Takeaways: Make sure that the Homeowners Association (HOA)/Condominium board of directors includes protocols wherein its owners are aware of the rules (declaration and by-laws) and have appropriate expectations when living in the community. In litigation, courts sometimes intervene and substitute its finding for the board’s finding in accordance with the business judgment rule, …
Hackers have successfully hit at least five US law firms within the past few weeks. Reportedly, the attacks are part of a coordinated effort potentially affecting nearly 200 victims in January alone. As if that were not frightening enough, the threat to law firms and to their clients, has magnified substantially in light of the type of attack now employed against law firms.
There are so many risk management sources, theories and tips for the practitioner seeking to avoid a malpractice claim. But, there is less direction available to the professional that does make a mistake and knows about it. What are the obligations to the client, to the carrier, to others once we discover that we’ve dropped the ball? Are there implications on the statute of limitations? The South Dakota Supreme Court addressed these questions in a recent decision.
At its simplest and most basic level, a professional malpractice policy for an attorney serves to insure against claims of malpractice. The devil is in the details, of course. In a recent decision, the Second Circuit affirmed a decision denying coverage to an attorney involved in a dispute over collection of his legal fee. The decision provides an interesting coverage lesson as well as a lesson about the sensitive nature of seeking to collect on a disputed fee.
America’s birthplace, home of the Liberty Bell, cheesesteaks and Rocky, the City of Brotherly Love is a destination for history, arts, culture…and personal injury cases. Once again, Philadelphia has been named America’s number one judicial hellhole in the annual ranking by the American Tort Reform Foundation for 2019. This is based on Philadelphia’s outrageous verdicts, amount …
A recent decision rendered by the New York Appellate Division, First Department, on October 17, 2019, held that the lower court properly dismissed a legal malpractice complaint on the ground that documentary evidence established there was no attorney-client relationship. In Seaman v Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, 176 A.D.3d 538 (1st Dep’t 2019), the dispute centered …
Nine law firms face $500 million in damages arising from the alleged aiding and abetting of a large securities scam. The scam was perpetrated by a now defunct, relatively well-publicized real estate investment firm (“Investment Firm”) that operated a Ponzi scheme targeting the retirement benefits of the elderly. The man responsible for the scheme pled guilty to …
Hip fractures are one of the most-common orthopedic injuries sustained by plaintiffs in long-term and elder care cases arising from falls. Long-term care (“LTC”) facilities must endeavor to reduce fall-induced hip fractures through care-based interventions to optimize patient care, limit litigation, and decrease stress upon the health care system. The Journal of the American Medical Directors …
Deadlines are a way of life for most professionals, certainly attorneys. The practice of law involves tons of deadlines, many of which are subject to some form of extension, but an attorney must take active steps to either meet each deadline or see to it that the deadline is adjusted. An attorney’s obligation of competency …
In this era of sophisticated DNA testing, exonerations of incarcerated individuals have become increasingly commonplace. The ensuing malicious prosecution lawsuits have justifiably resulted in high verdicts and settlements. The key issue for many municipalities is whether and under which policies of insurance is coverage triggered for these malicious prosecution claims. On November 21, 2019, the …