Legal Malpractice

Roadmap to a Legal Malpractice Law Suit, Under Seal

By (Andrew Lavoott Bluestone)

Taken verbatim from the New York Law Journal by Andrew Longstreth
 

"McDermott Will Settles Malpractice Claim

McDermott, Will & Emery has settled a malpractice claim brought by the litigation trustee in the bankruptcy of Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers of New York, according to court records. News of the settlement, which is filed under seal at the request of the trustee, was first reported by Crain's New York.  The trustee alleged that the law firm purposefully delayed the bankruptcy filing of Saint Vincent's to keep members of the hospital's restructuring team in place and run up its own bills, which delayed the hospital's emergence from bankruptcy. (St. Vincent's substituted McDermott with Weil, Gotshal & Manges as its debtor's counsel in September 2005.) One of the reasons cited in the trustee's motion to file the settlement under seal is to protect McDermott Will from competitors. "MWE has a strong interest in maintaining the confidentiality of the proposed settlement agreement because it contains confidential information about MWE, disclosure of which could adversely affect its commercial activities," it states. "Specifically, disclosure of the terms of the proposed settlement agreement could provide a road map for any disgruntled current or former client of MWE for the pursuit of litigation against the firm, giving an unfair advantage to MWE's competitors in the marketplace."

Full post as published by New York Attorney Malpractice Blog on May 26, 2009 (boomark / email).