legal malpractice

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In Gersh v. Nixon Peabody, LLP, the court addressed a legal malpractice claim brought by a decedent’s surviving spouse in connection with the couple’s estate planning. After settling a claim with the decedent’s children from a prior marriage that was made based on a separation agreement between the decedent and their mother, the surviving spouse alleged that the attorneys, who knew the decedent had been married twice before, failed to properly investigate his duties under separation agreements in the course of the representation. Frank Santoro discusses the case in our latest post.
Continue Reading Speculation, Estate Planning, and Legal Malpractice

The Court of Appeals has rendered a landmark decision, chipping away at privity in holding that an estate fiduciary may maintain a legal malpractice claim against its decedent’s estate tax planning attorneys for negligent representation.  Until now, privity, i.e., a legal connection between two parties, was a strict condition precedent to maintaining a legal malpractice…

This week’s entry, written by Jaclene D’Agostino, discusses a recent New York County Supreme Court decision dismissing a widow’s legal malpractice claim against her husband’s estate planning attorneys. The rationale: lack of privity, despite the fact that the defendant attorneys also represented the widow in her own estate plans, and jointly with her husband in other matters.
Continue Reading Widow Barred from Bringing Legal Malpractice Action against Husband’s Estate Planning Attorneys