Legal Update for Lawyers’ Professional Liability - RESULTS & THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
RESULTS *
Josh Byrne (Philadelphia) defeated a motion for emergency preliminary injunction in a legal malpractice claim in Dauphin County and succeeded in getting his client paid attorneys’ fees owed that were in excess of six figures.
Josh Byrne (Philadelphia) achieved dismissal of a disciplinary complaint involving claims that an attorney did not communicate with a criminal client assigned to him by the court.
Josh Byrne (Philadelphia) achieved dismissal of a disciplinary complaint involving claims that a former prosecutor was involved in attaining a wrongful conviction in a murder case.
Josh Byrne (Philadelphia) achieved dismissal of a disciplinary complaint where an attorney was accused of not properly communicating with her client in an estate matter and violating Rule 1.15 with respect to estate funds.
Jack Slimm and Jeremy Zacharias (Mount Laurel) were successful at trial in the New Jersey Superior Court on behalf of their client, a New York law firm. In this case, the plaintiff, after receiving legal invoices from our client, filed a legal malpractice complaint alleging fraudulent billing. At trial, the legal malpractice claims against our client were dismissed, leaving the fee claim we asserted in the counterclaim to be decided by the jury. The jury rendered a verdict in favor of our client for the full amount of the invoices owed to the Firm, $244,759.59. This victory is significant since, pursuant to the contract the plaintiff entered into with our client, the judgment on the counterclaim will total to approximately $500,000.00 in interest and attorneys’ fees.
Jack Slimm and Jeremy Zacharias (Mount Laurel) were successful in obtaining a dismissal of an ethics grievance against their client, a matrimonial attorney. The ethics grievance alleged that money in the grievant’s trust account was improperly handled since the ledger cards were completed incorrectly. Upon interviewing our client, the ethics investigator determined that no ethical violation was present since the money at issue was fully accounted for in the Trust account, despite the allegations by the grievant.
Edwin Schwartz (Harrisburg) obtained dismissal of Disciplinary Board complaints on matters alleging violations of RPC 1.3, 1.6, 1.7, 3.2 and 8.4. Ed also successfully defended a surcharge claim in Orphans Court.
*Prior Results Do Not Guarantee a Similar Outcome
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Josh Byrne (Philadelphia) co-authored “Settle and Sue Your Lawyer: The Muhammad Doctrine Under Fire,” which was published in the January 2023 issue of Pennsylvania Bar Association Quarterly. You can read the article here: https://marshalldennehey.com/articles/settle-and-sue-your-lawyer-muhamm….
Dana Gittleman’s (Philadelphia) article “Discovery Rule Still Rules in Legal Malpractice Actions” was published on January 12, 2023, by PLUS. You can read the article here: https://plusblog.org/2023/01/12/discovery-rule-still-rules-in-legal-mal…
Josh Byrne (Philadelphia) has been appointed to the Board of Governors of the Philadelphia Bar Association. He will serve a three-year term, effective January 1, 2023. Byrne also co-chairs the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Professional Responsibility Committee.
Josh Byrne’s (Philadelphia) article “What Is Worse Than Hiding Your Head in the Sand? A Few Examples” was published in The Legal Intelligencer on November 18, 2022. You can read the article here: https://marshalldennehey.com/articles/what-worse-hiding-your-head-sand-….
Josh Byrne (Philadelphia) participated in PBI’s three-hour “Essential Ethics” program presenting on the disciplinary process in Pennsylvania.
Jeremy Zacharias (Mount Laurel) was a panelist at the Rutgers’ School of Law’s Professionalism Seminar. This seminar is offered twice a year, and Jeremy is a recurring panelist. He discussed the defense of ethics grievances and the RPCs in the state of New Jersey. The audience included first year law students learning about the Rules of Professional Conduct, and the panel included a federal judge and an attorney from the Public Defender’s Office. Jeremy discussed the importance of the Rules of Professional Conduct in daily practice as well as applications of the Rules of Professional Conduct in practical examples.
Legal Update for Lawyers’ Professional Liability – January 2023 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. We would be pleased to provide such legal assistance as you require on these and other subjects when called upon. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1 Copyright © 2023 Marshall Dennehey, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm. For reprints or inquiries, or if you wish to be removed from this mailing list, contact tamontemuro@mdwcg.com.