Firm's Engagement Letter Not Specific Enough to Beat Back Malpractice Suit
A Manhattan federal judge has refused to dismiss a $10 million legal malpractice suit against Seward & Kissel, finding that under the firm's broad terms in an engagement letter, its lawyers might have been expected to conduct due diligence on a party in a deal.
September 13, 2017 at 05:16 PM
17 minute read
A Manhattan federal judge has refused to dismiss a $10 million legal malpractice suit against Seward & Kissel, finding that under the firm's broad terms in an engagement letter, its lawyers might have been expected to conduct due diligence on a party in a deal.
Seward had represented Mitchell Barack in selling his lighting business to ForceField Energy Inc., shortly before ForceField's chairman was arrested and the company delisted from public trading.
Ruling on a motion to dismiss in a 2016 legal malpractice case brought by Barack, U.S. District Judge William Pauley III of the Southern District of New York said on Tuesday that Seward “may have had a duty to conduct due diligence on ForceField.”
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