Andrew Lavoott Bluestone

August 08, 2019 | New York Law Journal

Control of attorney conduct is a part of the common law imported into New York law with the formation of our state and nation. What are the ancient origins of legal malpractice and controls over attorney deceit?

By Andrew Lavoott Bluestone

11 minute read

May 24, 2019 | New York Law Journal

Over the past 50 years, although discovery has become much more complex, and legal malpractice litigation has correspondingly deepened, the judgment rule remains strong, and routinely applied.

By Andrew Lavoott Bluestone

11 minute read

February 13, 2019 | New York Law Journal

Clients may be told that another lawyer has committed “legal malpractice.” But, is it “legal malpractice” or merely a departure? What are the reviewers really saying when they talk of legal malpractice? In general, they have correctly determined that another attorney fell below the standard of good practice. That's a departure, but just the start of the analysis of legal malpractice.

By Andrew Lavoott Bluestone

12 minute read

December 27, 2018 | New York Law Journal

Everyone knows, whether from 'Law and Order' or from popular culture in general, that words spoken to an attorney by a client are forever privileged, sacrosanct and private. As is true with many well-known facts, the true contours of the actual fact may not closely conform to the cliché.

By Andrew Lavoott Bluestone

11 minute read

November 05, 2018 | New York Law Journal

The attorney-client relationship has a limited lifespan. Generally, it is a project-based temporary business relationship, albeit a fiduciary one. Whether the representation is short or long, transactional or litigation based, it must someday end. It may end with settlement or a verdict in litigation, it may end at the completion of a transaction, or it may end in the middle.

By Andrew Lavoott Bluestone

10 minute read

June 22, 2018 | New York Law Journal

A recent case in the Western District of New York has the potential to reach both of the Courts of Appeal by different routes.

By Andrew Lavoott Bluestone

11 minute read

March 28, 2018 | New York Law Journal

It has been almost four years since 'Grace' was decided. Legal malpractice litigation continues at its typical pace, and the defense bar is aware of the implications of plaintiff's appeal status. Our earlier confident expectoration of a spike in the use of 'Grace' has not yet materialized.

By Andrew Lavoott Bluestone

11 minute read

November 13, 2017 | New York Law Journal

Recently I wrote of a Judiciary Law §487 case in the Northern District of New York that violently altered the basic understanding of the elements…

By Andrew Lavoott Bluestone

8 minute read

January 30, 2017 | New York Law Journal

Andrew Lavoott Bluestone writes: Missed statutes of limitation are the subject matter of many legal malpractice cases—and ironically, late malpractice cases themselves come up far more regularly than expected.

By Andrew Lavoott Bluestone

18 minute read

October 25, 2016 | New York Law Journal

Manhattan attorney Andrew Lavoott Bluestone discusses the importance of the "but for" element in legal malpractice litigation. As he puts it, the "but for" element of legal malpractice is a place where otherwise great legal malpractice cases founder and sink; a black hole in law is a place where cases disappear without a trace. Legal malpractice cases in which the attorney mistake is obvious and even admitted can still disappear without a trace when the "but for" element of legal malpractice is considered.

By Andrew Lavoott Bluestone

21 minute read