On October 27, 2016 a New York County Supreme Court Judge agreed with Skadden Arps that a former client who had sued them for $35 million dollars was too late in filing suit. The legal malpractice suit was filed by the creditors of a bankrupt aviation company. For many years Skadden Arps had represented the interests of an Oregon based entrepreneur and various Aviation related businesses some of which went bankrupt. It was claimed that the legal services Skadden Arps provided to its client in Oregon, "had the effect of diverting money" that could have been used to reduce their debt.

The lawsuit was timely filed within New York State's three year statute of limitations for legal malpractice but at least ten months beyond Oregon's two year statute of limitations. The law in New York provides that when a non-resident sues on a matter accruing outside of New York, the lawsuit must be filed within the statute of limitations of both the state where the lawsuit is filed and the state where the legal services were provided. It was undisputed that every transaction at issue was consummated in Oregon, every claim accrued in Oregon and the plaintiff's were not resident's of New York. The only relationship this case had to New York is that the attorney's were headquartered in New York.