Plaintiff appealed the adverse summary judgment granted in her action filed on behalf of decedent seeking equitable garnishment against a claims-based, professional-liability insurance policy issued by defendant. The trial court ruled that the policy did not afford coverage to plaintiff ...

Tagged with: Equitable Garnishment against Insurance Legal malpractice

Where plaintiff brought claims including breach of fiduciary duty, collusion and fraud against an attorney and a law firm in a dispute arising from commercial transactions, summary judgment for the defendants was proper because the district court correctly determined that ...

Tagged with: Expert Affidavit Fiduciary duty Legal malpractice

Where a man, whose convictions were voided after 17 years, sued his trial and appellate public defenders for negligently failing to assert a jurisdictional challenge, and the public defenders challenged the $600,000 jury verdict entered in his favor, the public ...

Tagged with: jurisdiction Legal malpractice Public Defender Immunity

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Jan. 29 that a legal-malpractice suit against the St. Louis law firm HeplerBroom must be moved to a different county. But the court left unresolved a larger question about the proper venue for such suits. ...

Tagged with: Legal malpractice Missouri Supreme Court

Where a trial court in a legal-malpractice case granted a motion for summary judgment for the defendants on two fraud counts but denied the motion as to the legal-malpractice claim, the legal-malpractice claim was based on the same factual occurrences ...

Tagged with: jurisdiction Legal malpractice Negligence

Missouri’s venue laws hinge on where the plaintiff was “first injured.” That’s usually clear enough in a car crash or a botched surgery, but a pending legal malpractice suit against a prominent St. Louis law firm is proving harder to pin down.

Tagged with: Legal malpractice Missouri Surpeme Court

Even experienced and well-meaning attorneys can suddenly find themselves in representations that present conflicts of interests. Vigilance and a game plan are key to preventing these conflicts from becoming a bar disciplinary action or a malpractice claim. In a recent ...

Tagged with: commentary Legal malpractice

One day after a Jackson County jury awarded a Kansas engraving company $11.1 million in compensatory damages against one of Missouri’s largest law firms for its legal-malpractice claim, the parties notified the court they’d reached a confidential settlement.

Tagged with: Legal malpractice Polsinelli

A Jackson County jury on Monday afternoon awarded an $11. 1 million verdict against one of Missouri’s largest law firms in a case involving allegations that it was negligent in its handling of a trade-secrets misappropriation case.

Tagged with: Legal malpractice Polsinelli

This story was updated to clarify that the attorney defendants named in the suit against Polsinelli were dismissed prior to trial.  Donald C. Stevens II was a medical-malpractice and insurance-defense attorney when he joined a Polsinelli colleague in 2009 in ...

Tagged with: Legal malpractice Polsinelli

Now that warmer temperatures have finally reached the Midwest, many lawyers may begin to contemplate taking time away from work to enjoy the beautiful weather with family and friends. In fact, numerous studies have shown that vacation time can decrease lawyer stress ...

Tagged with: commentary Legal malpractice