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Full-Text Articles in Contracts
Whose Beneficiaries Are They Anyway? Copenhaver V. Rogers And The Attorney's Contract To Prepare A Will In Virginia, Brian Adams
Whose Beneficiaries Are They Anyway? Copenhaver V. Rogers And The Attorney's Contract To Prepare A Will In Virginia, Brian Adams
University of Richmond Law Review
In a case of first impression in the Commonwealth, the Supreme Court of Virginia recently considered whether an attorney may be liable for drafting a will which results in the failure of a testamentary gift to intended beneficiaries. Historically, will beneficiaries had been denied a means of recovery against attorneys due to a lack of privity between the parties. Although Virginia remains a "strict privity' jurisdiction, it recognizes third-party contract beneficiary claims' and has legislatively abrogated the privity requirement in other areas of the law. The plaintiffs in Copenhaver v. Rogers sought to establish a third-party beneficiary claim as the …
Legal Malpractice In Virginia: Tort Or Contract?, R. Paul Childress Jr.
Legal Malpractice In Virginia: Tort Or Contract?, R. Paul Childress Jr.
University of Richmond Law Review
A client who attempts to recover from an attorney does so because the client feels that the attorney has acted negligently. The concepts of standard of care, negligence, and damages are usually associated with actions in tort. However, while an examination of applicable Virginia law reveals that concepts usually associated with tort apply to legal malpractice, the presence of elements of negligence does not always equal tort.
Perpetuities, Privity And Professional Liability, D. Orville Lahy
Perpetuities, Privity And Professional Liability, D. Orville Lahy
University of Richmond Law Review
As the number of malpractice cases against members of all professions continues to increase, it seems appropriate to review several new developments which may be of considerable importance to the practicing lawyer with respect to his professional liability. The time has come to approach this delicate subject with some plain language about property law and the portentous responsibility of the legal profession in the context of the rule against perpetuities.