DLA Piper Wins $180 Million Malpractice Lawsuit
A $180 million legal malpractice lawsuit against international law firm DLA Piper ended in late May when a federal judge dismissed the case with prejudice.
The lawsuit, which stemmed from a 2018 shareholder action in which the plaintiff company was placed in receivership, was tossed by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in New York, who said the case was filed after the three-year statute of limitations had passed.
The case is Link Motion Inc v. DLA Piper LLP (US), U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 1:22-cv-08313.
Read more in Reuters here.
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Take The 30-Minute Malpractice Prevention Checkup
Want to know how safe your firm is from a malpractice claim? Take the Lawyers Mutual 30-Minute Self-Audit and find out.
The 100-question test is easy to complete. Simply by taking it – regardless of how you score – will give you valuable insights about your firm’s strengths and weaknesses. A good time for taking the test is just before your annual planning and budget session or when your Lawyers Mutual policy comes up for renewal. After the test, prepare a list of action steps to prevent malpractice claims and improve your firm’s risk management efforts.
Here are the 10 questions in the Calendar and Docket Control module:
1. Do you have a reliable system for tracking dates and deadlines?
2. Does your system include at least two of these features?
- Computerized calendar system
- Manual system (tickler cards/file box)
- Attorney’s calendar
- Matching secretary’s calendar
3. Do you have a backup system?
4. Do you calendar advance warnings prior to ultimate deadlines?
5. Do you follow up to see that work was actually completed?
6. Do you routinely enter important dates, such as:
- Statutes of limitations
- Court appearances and litigation deadlines
- Procedural deadlines
- Client-imposed deadlines
- Discovery dates
- Billing dates
- Office appointments
- Administrative hearings and deadlines
- Real estate deadlines
- Deadlines set by you and your staff
- Dates you will be out of the office
7. Do you have a designated Docket Czar to run the system?
8. Is everyone from senior partner to receptionist trained to use the system?
9. Do you keep a long-range calendar for one-year, five-, 10- and 20-year ticklers (for example, future work in estate or corporate files)?
10. Does your system produce daily or weekly activity calendars that are distributed to the responsible attorney and staff member?
SOURCES: 30-minute-checkup_2020.pdf (nmcdn.io)
Law firm DLA Piper defeats $180 million malpractice lawsuit | Reuters
DLA Piper Successfully Defends Against $180 Million Malpractice Lawsuit | JDJournal
For close to half a century, Lawyers Mutual has been the smart choice for professional liability coverage for North Carolina attorneys. We cover the state from Murphy to Manteo. We insure large firms, solo practitioners and everyone in between. We help new lawyers enter the profession with confidence, and we help keep seasoned veterans safe and successful. The numbers speak for themselves. Lawyers Mutual has been in business since 1977, making us the only insurance carrier to provide continuous protection over that period. Today we insure more than 8000 lawyers in North Carolina. Most of them will stick with us until they retire. Why? Because they know we are here for them today and will be here tomorrow, bringing protection and peace of mind in turbulent times. Visit our website, give us a call, or ask a colleague why Lawyers Mutual is the smart choice for liability coverage.
