Law Commons^™

The Informed Consent Doctrine In Legal Malpractice Law, Vincent R. Johnson

Faculty Articles

The doctrine of informed consent is now deeply embedded into the law of legal ethics. In legal malpractice litigation, the doctrine holds that a lawyer has a duty to disclose to a client material information about the risks and alternatives associated with a course of action. A lawyer who fails to make such required disclosures and fails to obtain informed consent is negligent, regardless of whether the lawyer otherwise exercises care in representing a client. If such negligent nondisclosures cause damages, the lawyer can be held accountable for the client's losses.

Shifting the focus of a legal malpractice action from …

Civil Rights, Access To Counsel, And Injunctive Class Actions In The United States, Maureen Carroll

Book Chapters

According to a familiar story about class actions in the United States, aggregation promotes access to counsel by increasing the amount of money from which counsel fees can be taken. Courts usually award class counsel a percentage of the monetary recovery obtained on behalf of the class, and class treatment can turn a $30 case into a $3 million case. But what about class actions that do not involve monetary relief at all? Some civil rights plaintiffs seek to stop a violation, rather than to obtain compensation for past harm, and therefore choose to pursue only an injunction or declaratory …

Standards Of Review In Texas, W. Wendell Hall, Ryan G. Anderson

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming

Law School News: Bailey And Kilpatrick Join Rwu School Of Law Board 11/01/2018, Edward Fitzpatrick

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Causation And "Legal Certainty" In Legal Malpractice Law, Vincent R. Johnson

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

A line of California cases holds that causation of damages in legal malpractice actions must be proven with “legal certainty.” This Article argues that judicial references to legal certainty are ambiguous and threaten to undermine the fairness of legal malpractice litigation as a means for resolving lawyer-client disputes. Courts should eschew the language of legal certainty and plainly state that damages are recoverable if a legal malpractice plaintiff proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that those losses were factually and proximately caused by the defendant’s breach of duty.

Mutually Assured Protection Among Large U.S. Law Firms, Tom Baker, Rick Swedloff

All Faculty Scholarship

Top law firms are notoriously competitive, fighting for prime clients and matters. But some of the most elite firms are also deeply cooperative, willingly sharing key details about their finances and strategy with their rivals. More surprisingly, they pay handsomely to do so. Nearly half of the AmLaw 100 and 200 belong to mutual insurance organizations that require member firms to provide capital; partner time; and important information about their governance, balance sheets, risk management, strategic plans, and malpractice liability. To answer why these firms do so when there are commercial insurers willing to provide coverage with fewer burdens, we …

Liability Insurer Data As A Window On Lawyers’ Professional Liability, Tom Baker, Rick Swedloff

All Faculty Scholarship

Using the best publicly available data on lawyers’ liability claims and insurance – from the largest insurer of large law firms in the U.S., the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Professional Liability, and a summary of large claims from a leading insurance broker–this article reports the frequency of lawyers’ liability claims, the distribution and cost of claims by type of practice, the disposition of claims, and lawyers liability insurance premiums from the early 1980s to 2013. Notable findings include remarkable stability over thirty years in the distribution of claims by area of practice among both small and large firms, …

The Corporate Antitrust Audit - Establishing A Document Retention Program, Sheldon S. Toll, Joseph P. Bauer

Joseph P. Bauer

No abstract provided.

Misapplication Of The Attorney Malpractice Paradigm To Litigation Services: "Suit Within A Suit" Shortcomings Compel Witness Immunity For Experts, Adam J. Myers Iii

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Relations Between Lawyer And Client In Damages: Model, Typical, Or Dysfunctional?, Rodney J. Uphoff

Faculty Publications

This essay begins, therefore, by briefly examining the question of what constitutes good lawyering. The essay acknowledges the difficulty of defining precisely what is good lawyering. In fact, scholars, judges, and lawyers often disagree markedly when they characterize lawyer behavior using the term. Not surprising, then, even though academic commentators routinely trumpet the importance of establishing a meaningful attorney-client relationship as an important aspect of good lawyering, not all in the legal profession embrace that view.8Indeed, the debate about the importance of a good lawyer-client relationship largely reflects contrasting attitudes within the legal profession about the client's role in the …

Legal Malpractice In Ohio, John C. Nemeth

Cleveland State Law Review

This article will discuss the fundamentals of a legal malpractice case, specifically addressing two areas. The first involves the elements of a legal malpractice case. This discussion will expose two problems that continually appear in legal malpractice litigation: (1) expanding the liability of an attorney to third parties, and (2) determining whether the alleged malpractice was the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injuries. The second area of discussion will focus on the time limitations imposed for bringing a legal malpractice action. Additionally, in order to better understand the current state of the law, a brief discussion illustrating the historical development …

Lawsuit, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Lawsuit by Stuart M. Speiser

The Corporate Antitrust Audit - Establishing A Document Retention Program, Sheldon S. Toll, Joseph P. Bauer

Journal Articles

Preventive maintenance is a doctrine with which lawyers are becoming—or should become—increasingly familiar. Since the field of antitrust law is potentially fraught with dire consequences for corporate clients, it is an area in which the doctrine of preventive maintenance should be liberally applied.

Damages-Counsel Fees As Item Of Damages For Malicious Inducement Of Breach Of Contract. [Federal]

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.