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Speculative Legal Malpractice Complaint Dismissed by Manhattan Federal Ct Judge

On July 12, 2018, federal court Judge Stanton from the Southern District (Manhattan) dismissed a legal malpractice complaint because it lacked sufficient detail explaining why the outcome of a case would have been favorable if handled properly by the law firm. The client retained the defendant law firm to represent him in a shareholder's dispute over the operation of a bar in New York City. The dispute was resolved at an arbitration. Not only did the client lose, but the arbitration tribunal recited in its decision that the client admitted to fraudulent conduct and ordered him to account for missing funds. How could any law firm have successfully represented this client who admits to participating in a fraud?

The Court explained that it's not enough to allege that -- "if the lawyer had been more diligent in their representation I would have won." In a legal malpractice complaint, you have to detail HOW and/or WHY the arbitration, trial or transaction would have ended up with a successful outcome if handled properly. (Interestingly, this level of detail is not required in a medical malpractice complaint in New York.) In this case, the Complaint had already been dismissed once before because it lacked the necessary detail to explain how the outcome of the arbitration would have differed if the law firm had argued more aggressively on behalf of the client. As such, the amended complaint was dismissed as being "too speculative" concerning the causation element of a legal malpractice action. Collins v Felder, 2018 WL 3418782

Ronald C. Burke, Esq

Trial Attorney with 30+ Years of Experience Attorney Ronald C. Burke, Esq. has more than 30 years of experience and has focused his career on representing clients in cases involving personal injury, medical malpractice and legal malpractice. He is a seasoned trial lawyer and has won many seven-figure settlements and verdicts for his clients over the years, including many case victories listed among the largest in the history of the New York State. He has been featured in the news and is a regular lecturer for the New York County Lawyers Association, as well as having lectured before the New York State Bar Association. Ron is also an attorney with Kelner & Kelner, a New York personal injury law firm. Awards and Accolades Mr. Burke's awards and accolades are many. Among them, he has been included in New York Super Lawyers® each year since 2010, and he has received the highest-possible AV® Rating from Martindale-Hubbell®. Verdict Search, a part of the New York Law Journal, frequently recognizes his notable successes after winning some of the highest settlements and verdicts in past years. He was also featured in their list of the "Top New York Verdicts " and "Top New York Settlements." He is a member of the New York State Bar Association and is licensed to practice law in the U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, as well as before the United States Supreme Court. When Attorney Burke is not handling legal malpractice cases, he is highly involved in the local community. He was a member of the Village of Rockville Centre Volunteer Fire Department, has served on the local school board and as Chairman of the local Zoning Board. Learn more about Attorney Burke and how he can skillfully handle your malpractice case by contacting the Law Offices of Ronald C. Burke, Esq. right away to schedule your complimentary case evaluation. Our firm is here to help! Contact a New York Legal Malpractice Attorney Our firm provides each client's case with thorough preparation and aggressive representation, ensuring that you win the best possible results for your case whether it is settled or goes to trial. As a seasoned trial lawyer, Mr. Burke can provide the strong and relentless representation you need to establish negligence in a legal malpractice case and to recover any damages you may have suffered. Our firm can recover compensation for pre-trial and trial malpractice, violations of fee arrangements, loss of income, pain and suffering, and much more. Contact us today!

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