Anita Bernstein

January 30, 2019 | New York Law Journal

Instead of compelling plaintiffs to prove judge-made add-ons not found in the statute, New York courts hearing §487 claims should maintain focus on particularity pleading as provisioned in CPLR 3016(b).

By Anita Bernstein and John Crain

9 minute read

November 30, 2018 | New York Law Journal

Which elements not expressly provisioned in Judiciary Law §487, if any, are necessary for a successful claim of treble damages?

By Anita Bernstein and John Crain

8 minute read

April 13, 2017 | New York Law Journal

Anita Bernstein writes: Depending how you count, there are approximately 62 statutory provisions for treble damages in New York law. Read together, most of them share an interest in vulnerable people.

By Anita Bernstein

20 minute read

January 25, 2017 | New York Law Journal

Anita Bernstein and Lauren Boulbol of Brooklyn Law School writes: Violating New York Judiciary Law §487 can be memorably costly for an errant attorney, but successful plaintiffs may have to worry about collecting on §487 judgments they receive. Lawyers' assets are not always in ready reach of prevailing parties. How can plaintiffs collect their judgments when defendants' assets and malpractice insurance are both limited?

By Anita Bernstein and Lauren Boulbol

20 minute read

December 08, 2016 | New York Law Journal

Anita Bernstein, a professor at Brooklyn Law School, analyzes the Appellate Division, First Department's "adjectival criteria" in legal malpractice cases. She writes: while all the adjectives in the statute are either neutral or plaintiff-favoring, the First Department has written adjectival criteria that make it hard for plaintiffs to win. There's more: First Department cases say that plaintiffs must show a "pattern" of attorney misconduct, and assert that redress for this wrong must be "not lightly given." These hurdles, she writes, do not appear anywhere in the statute. "Chronic, extreme," "egregious." Redress for injured people "not lightly given." The "pattern" criterion. Where did the First Department's discouraging-to-plaintiffs words come from?

By Anita Bernstein

30 minute read

March 03, 2016 | New York Law Journal

Anita Bernstein writes that the damages element of a malpractice prima facie case describes attorney error with reference to the harm that it caused: Because the lawyer failed to act with care, a loss ensued. Like every other element of legal malpractice, the damages element comes with opportunities for parties in court, clients and lawyers alike.

By Anita Bernstein

11 minute read

January 29, 2016 | New York Law Journal

Anita Bernstein writes that the Appellate Division departments impose stringent criteria for the breach element when clients complain about malpractice in criminal defense, but for civil-defense lawyers, a wider range of misbehaviors will suffice.

By Anita Bernstein

12 minute read

December 30, 2015 | New York Law Journal

Anita Bernstein writes: Earning a living as a criminal defense lawyer takes guts. Attorneys are more likely than their civil-side peers to need added security, their work is often unpopular among laypersons, and extremely zealous advocates could cross the line into criminal liability themselves. In one respect, however, the criminal defense bar is cocooned in comparison to other private-sector practitioners. Its members enjoy almost total safety from legal malpractice.

By Anita Bernstein

12 minute read

December 29, 2015 | New York Law Journal

Anita Bernstein writes: Earning a living as a criminal defense lawyer takes guts. Attorneys are more likely than their civil-side peers to need added security, their work is often unpopular among laypersons, and extremely zealous advocates could cross the line into criminal liability themselves. In one respect, however, the criminal defense bar is cocooned in comparison to other private-sector practitioners. Its members enjoy almost total safety from legal malpractice.

By Anita Bernstein

12 minute read

November 24, 2015 | New York Law Journal

Anita Bernstein writes: Today we take a look at the most important legal malpractice provision found in the Judiciary Law: Section 487. In principle—though, as we will see, not too often in practice—§487 provides for damages to persons who attribute financial loss to attorney misconduct.

By Anita Bernstein

9 minute read