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Full-Text Articles in Law
Personal Jurisdiction In Legal Malpractice Litigation, Cassandra Burke Robertson
Personal Jurisdiction In Legal Malpractice Litigation, Cassandra Burke Robertson
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
Lawyers are increasingly engaging in multi-jurisdictional practice—and their representation is increasingly giving rise to cross-jurisdictional malpractice actions. Over the years, courts have issued divergent and contradictory opinions about whether out-of-state attorneys representing clients only on out-of-state matters can constitutionally be subject to personal jurisdiction in the client’s home state. The Supreme Court’s recent opinions in Daimler v. Bauman and Walden v. Fiore do little to settle this question and, in fact, may raise more questions than they answer. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court’s new personal jurisdiction jurisprudence offers an opportunity for courts to adopt a more cohesive analysis of personal jurisdiction …
Everyone Makes Mistakes: Attorney's Fee Recovery In Legal Malpractice Suits, Sande L. Buhai
Everyone Makes Mistakes: Attorney's Fee Recovery In Legal Malpractice Suits, Sande L. Buhai
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
This Article argues that the American Rule should be changed for legal malpractice suits because the attorney–client relationship is the quintessential fiduciary relationship and because of the added concern of unequal information available to each party as a result of the large disparity in power. Attorneys must abide by ethical rules and owe fiduciary duties to their clients, which include the duties of competence, diligence, and loyalty. Because it is this very relationship that distinguishes legal malpractice suits from an ordinary lawsuit, awarding attorney’s fees to the damaged plaintiff client helps maintain fiduciary relationships and furthers the interests of justice. …