Jeffrey Cunningham
Partner
Experience
Jeffrey Cunningham serves as outside general counsel to solo and small law firms. Additionally, Jeff counsels and defends attorneys, accountants, and other industry professionals in a wide range of professional liability, ethics, and professional disciplinary matters. With over a decade of experience, Jeff draws on a broad background in civil litigation including commercial disputes, malpractice claims, directors and officers (D&O) liability, employment and labor law, catastrophic personal injury, premises liability, and product liability. He has extensive experience in both state and federal courts and in all phases of litigation, including conducting depositions, hearings, arbitrations, mediations, and trials.
Prior to entering private practice, Jeff was a legal intern for the Queens District Attorney’s Office, where he prosecuted misdemeanors and violations in Queens Criminal Court under the supervision of assistant district attorneys for Fordham Law’s Prosecution Clinic. He also spent time as a legal intern with the U.S. Attorney’s Office South District of New York Criminal Division.
Related Areas
Experience Highlights
- Represented NYC law firm expanding into new jurisdictions and practice areas.
- Counseled mid-sized healthcare law firm navigating a series of cyber breaches, notification, response, and resulting litigations.
- Successfully and amicably dissolved law firm partnership as partners retired and lateralled to new firms.
- Obtained pre-answer dismissal of CT lawsuit against firm stemming from insurance coverage dispute.
- Successfully defended malicious prosecution claims against law firm.
- Obtained summary judgment for NYC law firm stemming from IRS penalties for plaintiff’s tax shelter scheme.
- Obtained pre-answer dismissal of NY lawsuit against accounting firm stemming from tax services.
- Successfully resolved claims against NY architect alleging negligence in NYC building project.
- Successfully resolved claims against insurance brokers stemming from a coverage dispute.
Honors & Awards
Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating: AV Preeminent
New York Metro Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2014-21
Background
Admissions
- Connecticut
- New York
- U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York
- U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
Education
- Fordham University School of Law, J.D., 2010
- Journal of Corporate & Financial Law: Associate Editor
- Phillips-Universität Marburg, 2005
- Fulbright Scholarship
- The Citadel, B.A., 2004
- The Brigadier: Editor-in-Chief
Professional Affiliations
- The Cardozo Society
News & Knowledge
Publications & Events
- “COVID-19 Liability Waivers: Part of the New Workplace Normal?” (Co-Author), Fixed Ops Magazine, July 2020
- “Will COVID-19 Liability Releases Hold Up in Court?” (Co-Author), Risk Management, July 1, 2020
- “Will COVID-19 Liability Releases Hold Up? Examining the Enforceability of Exculpatory Clauses in the Context of an Evolving Pandemic” (Co-Author) GS White Paper, June 15, 2020—republished in Claims Journal June 23, 2020
- “Battle Buddies: Support Your People, More Ethics, Less Risk,” DigiCounsel, March 15, 2023
- “Legal Malpractice: A Deep Dive,” DigiCounsel, February 24, 2023
- “Legal Ethics and Experts,” MyLawCLE, December, 21, 2022
- “Malpractice in Real Estate Law,” Lawline, November 21, 2022
- “Attorney Retainer Agreements & Ethics: Risk Management Meets Best Practice,” Lawline, September 19, 2022
- “Cyber-Based Legal Malpractice Claims and Ethics Concerns,” Lawline, May 23, 2022
- “Ethics and Retainer Agreements: Lawyers’ Best Practice/Risk Management Tool,” Quimbee, February 1, 2022
- “Post-COVID Legal Ethics: Normal in the ‘New Normal,” LawPractice, January 19, 2022
- “Cyber-Based Legal Malpractice Claims: Defenses, Risk Management and Ethics Issues,” Quimbee, July 6, 2021
- “An Intro to Legal Malpractice Claims and Related Ethical Issues,” Quimbee, May 13, 2021
- “Attorney Ethics and Legal Malpractice Claims in the ‘New Normal,’” Lawline, January 28, 2021
- “Risk Management for Lawyers: Cyber-Based Professionalism Claims and Ethical Considerations,” LexVid CLE, August 31, 2020
- “Staying on the Ethical Path: Ethics and Legal Malpractice,” Cardozo Society of Fairfield County, Stamford, CT, December 4, 2019
- “Ethical Considerations in Legal Malpractice Claims,” Lawline, New York, NY, February 24, 2019
- “Point One: A Bite Of Ethics A Day Keeps The Legal Malpractice Claims Away”
- Contributor, “Technology, Risk, and the Law (TRL),” Timely Notice, March, 17, 2020
RECENT INSIGHTS
September 22, 2023
January 4, 2022
September 30, 2021
October 16, 2020