Recent Articles

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor Launches New Civics Web-Site for Kids!

Cassandra Crotty
March 06, 2009 17:23

I happened to stumble across a great new website that all parents, students, teachers and grandparents should know about - so spread the word!  Justice Sandra Day O'Connor recently launched www.ourcourts.org which is a site containing a wealth of knowledge for children on American Civics...

Blackwater Legal Malpractice Suit Dismissed

Cassandra Crotty
January 07, 2009 21:25

Articles on Law.com and MichiganMessenger.com detail how a $30 million legal malpractice suit brought against the Law Firm Wiley Rein by Blackwater Security Consulting has been dismissed for a second time.  In 2004, a wrongful death suit was filed against Blackwater by the...

Will the Economic Downturn Cause an Increase in Legal Malpractice Claims?

Cassandra Crotty
January 07, 2009 19:43

I just read an interesting article, here, on InjuryBoard.com that claims that experts predict legal malpractice claims are going to rise in 2009.  One of the main theories for the predicted increase is that lawyers who start to get squeezed economically are more likely to take on work...

"Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned"

Cassandra Crotty
October 27, 2008 20:58

Who  would have thought that a legal malpractice case could revolve around  William Congreve's famous quote, "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned" ( from The Mourning Bride) - Wildey v. Paulsen is such a case.  Not only is the...

In a "Defense-Type" Legal Malpractice Case, Actual Damages Can be Shown by the Entry of a Judgment Adverse to the Client, Even if the Judgment has Not Been Paid

Cassandra Crotty
July 21, 2008 21:16

I have been out of the blogging world for a while and have a stack of interesting cases and articles piled up on my desk to write about.  Today, I am going to ease back into things and highlight an Illinois Appellate case that came down earlier this year that lays out what...

Court Lambastes Lawyers in their Handling of a Jamaican Immigrant's Case

Cassandra Crotty
February 22, 2008 16:47

The ABA Journal reported yesterday on a New York based 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals decision that came down this week reopening the case of an immigrant who was scheduled for deportation and jailed for nine months (forcing his wife and child into a homeless shelter) when his initial counsel...

Failure to List Legal Malpractice Lawsuit as an Asset In a Bankruptcy Leads to Dismissal of Lawsuit

Cassandra Crotty
January 28, 2008 22:50

In a recent article in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin a decision by the Illinois Appellate Court was discussed dealing with the failure to schedule legal malpractice claims in a bankruptcy proceeding (Unfortunately, the case itself is unpublished, Dawn and Donald Patrzykont v. Randall A....

Legal Malpractice Carrier Takes a Hard Line in New Jersey Case

Cassandra Crotty
November 19, 2007 22:21

An Article posted today on Law.com written by Charles Toutant discusses an interesting and potentially huge declaratory judgment suit filed last week in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey.  A legal malpractice insurance carrier is sending up red flags on the level of client grumbling that...

Illinois Appellate Court Holds Client's Settlement of Underlying Case Does Not Preclude Malpractice Claim

Cassandra Crotty
October 29, 2007 22:25

An Illinois appellate court recently held that under the doctrine of judicial estoppel, a client's statement in court that she understood and agreed to the terms of her divorce settlement did not bar the client from bringing a legal malpractice claim alleging her attorney failed to conduct...

Illinois Appellate Court Holds That Defendant's Solvency is Required Element of Plaintiff's Legal Malpractice Action

Cassandra Crotty
October 15, 2007 17:52

To plead a cause of action for legal malpractice, a plaintiff must allege facts that support a finding that (1) an attorney  owed the plaintiff at duty arising from the attorney-client relationship, (2) the attorney breached that duty, and (3) the attorney's breach proximately caused the...