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Professional Liability

Legal Updates for Lawyers' Professional Liability

Legal Updates for Lawyers’ Professional Liability - RESULTS* & THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Presented by the Lawyers’ Professional Liability Practice Group

July 1, 2024

Lawyers’ Professional Liability RESULTS*

Samuel Cohen (Philadelphia, PA) and Jeremy Zacharias (Mount Laurel, NJ) obtained an Appellate Division decision affirming the trial court’s order dismissing a fraud and fraudulent concealment case filed against their clients, various attorneys and broker dealers. In its decision, the Appellate Division agreed with the trial court’s orders and opinions dismissing the case based on entire controversy, collateral estoppel and litigation privilege grounds. In this comprehensive decision, the Appellate Division held that the plaintiff’s claims were mirrored claims that had been fully litigated in a prior proceeding, where Sam’s and Jeremy’s clients either represented the litigants in the first case or were directly involved in the first case as defendants.   

Alesia Sulock (Philadelphia, PA) successfully defended an attorney in a disciplinary matter arising from the attorney’s alleged failure to properly maintain client funds and records of the attorney’s IOLTA account. By emphasizing the client’s long history of practice without disciplinary history, mitigating factors and remedial measures, Alesia was able to secure dismissal of the disciplinary complaint on behalf of her client.     

Jack Slimm and Jeremy Zacharias (both of Mount Laurel, NJ) successfully defended an appeal from a trial court’s order that granted our motion to dismiss a contribution claim filed by predecessor counsel against successor counsel. We represented successor counsel who tried to fix the error of the predecessor attorney in drafting and documenting a complex real estate transaction. This case reinforces the New Jersey Rule that successor counsel owes no duty to predecessor counsel. 

Jack Slimm (Mount Laurel, NJ) obtained a dismissal of a complex legal malpractice action on the eve of trial. The case arose out of an underlying New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection claim for remediation of contamination of a commercial site owned by the plaintiff. The plaintiff’s remediation and clean-up costs were estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Jack then successfully defeated the plaintiff’s motion for re-hearing.   

Josh J.T. Byrne (Philadelphia, PA) obtained dismissal on preliminary objections of a legal malpractice claim. The claim arose out of allegations that the attorney improperly created a will for plaintiff’s 90-year-old mother, who allegedly had dementia. The will did not include any legacy for the plaintiff. Josh successfully argued that the plaintiff did not have standing to maintain the action and that the plaintiff was collaterally estopped by prior decisions of the Orphan’s Court on the same issues.     

*Prior Results Do Not Guarantee a Similar Outcome
 

 

Lawyers’ Professional Liability THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

  • June 25—Alesia Sulock (Philadelphia, PA) presented, with the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Professional Liability Committee, “Avoiding Legal Malpractice” to the Monroe County Bar Association 
  • June 14—Jack Slimm (Mount Laurel, NJ) joined an all-star panel to present the New Jersey State Bar Association’s CLE program, “Legal Malpractice Update.” The seminar touched on ethical issues in legal malpractice, including claims and proofs involving the New Jersey Lawyers Fund for Client Protection, problems arising from accepting electronic payments, fee splitting and referral fees, emotional distress damages, the impact of artificial intelligence on legal malpractice, and appellate malpractice. 
  • June 4—Jack Slimm (Mount Laurel, NJ), Alesia Sulock (Philadelphia, PA) and Jeremy Zacharias (Mount Laurel, NJ) presented a webinar to firm clients titled “The Defense of Appellate Counsel in Legal Malpractice Actions.” The webinar discussed recent and emerging case law in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, as well as effective strategies for defending appellate counsel when facing legal malpractice lawsuits. 
  • May 29—Alesia Sulock (Philadelphia, PA) joined an international panel of attorneys and members of Insurance Law Global to present the webinar “The Assessment of Damages in Professional Liability Claims.” This panel of experts compared and contrasted how damages are calculated in Argentina, Australia, Italy, Spain, the UK and the USA. 
  • May 22—Josh J.T. Byrne and Alesia Sulock (Philadelphia, PA) presented a CLE for Attorney Protective on the Ethical Use of Social Media in the Practice of Law. The presentation attracted over 1,300 attendees. 
  • May 20—Josh J.T. Byrne (Philadelphia, PA) gave a CLE on communicating with unrepresented parties to the Lawyers’ Club of Philadelphia. This was a panel with Judge Idee Fox, Judge Thomas Street and Robert Tintner of Fox Rothschild. 
  • May 15—The Legal Intelligencer published “Your Well-Being Matters: Attorney Mental Health and Professional Competence” by Alesia Sulock and Josh J.T. Byrne (both of Philadelphia, PA). You can read their article here.

     


 

Legal Update for Lawyers’ Professional Liability – July 2024 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. We would be pleased to provide such legal assistance as you require on these and other subjects when called upon. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1 Copyright © 2024 Marshall Dennehey, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm. For reprints or inquiries, or if you wish to be removed from this mailing list, contact tamontemuro@mdwcg.com.

Firm Highlights

Jason Banonis Holds PDI Attorney of the Year Award with the PDI President

News

Jason Banonis Named Attorney of the Year by the Pennsylvania Defense Institute

Portrait of Carolyn Schweizer, with text below: Philadelphia Office Managing Attorney

News

Marshall Dennehey Names Carolyn Schweizer New Philadelphia Office Managing Attorney

Thought Leadership

Fla. Workers' Comp Physician Dispensing Ruling Could Produce New Legislative Fight

In a significant decision issued on February 25, 2026, the First District Court of Appeal (DCA) ruled in Publix Super Markets, Inc., et al. v. Department of Financial Services, et al., 430 So. 3d 252 (Fla. 1st DCA 2026), that while injured workers have an absolute right to choose their own pharmacy or pharmacist, that right does not extend to physicians who dispense medications directly to their patients.  Read Blake's article in Insurance Journal: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2026/08/05/880229.htm. 

Result

Summary Judgment Secured, Preserving $750,000 in Coverage for Insured in Major Trucking Liability Dispute

Ray Freudiger and Michael A. Roberts (both of Cincinnati) successfully obtained summary judgment on behalf of their client in a coverage dispute arising from a May 19, 2022, motor vehicle accident. A permissive driver operated a box truck for an interstate trucking company and caused severe injuries to two tort victims. Prior to the accident, the insured had procured a commercial auto policy for the trucking company with stated limits of $1,000,000. Following the accident, the insurer initiated a declaratory judgment action asserting that only reduced bodily injury limits of $25,000/$50,000 applied and later counterclaimed, alleging it would not have insured the driver had he been properly submitted for approval under the policy. After extensive discovery, briefing, and oral argument, the court rejected the insurer’s attempt to shift responsibility for the $750,000 in coverage it was legally required to provide for permissive drivers under Ohio law, granting summary judgment in favor of the insured and preserving $750,000 in liability exposure.

Thought Leadership

Appellate Division Affirms Dismissal of Legal Malpractice Counterclaim Against Martin Law Firm

In Martin v. Loury, 2026 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1617 (App. Div. July 15, 2026), Martin Law Firm represented Kirk Loury in an employment matter Mr. Loury filed against his former employer, Concord Equity Group Advisors LLC (“Concord”). The allegations included, among other things, that Loury was not fairly compensated for his employment with Concord. After a bench trial finding in Loury’s favor, the Appellate Division remanded this matter in February 2016 for a second trial. During the second trial, Concord CEO, Lee Argush, testified to lower compensation estimate than first trial. On remand, the second trial judge awarded Mr. Loury the same damages as the first judge, finding Mr. Argush not credible. After the findings during the second trial, Martin Law Firm filed an action against Mr. Loury to recover legal fees and costs of representing Mr. Loury in a second bench trial and Mr. Loury filed a counterclaim against Martin Law Firm for legal malpractice, alleging he should have received an even higher award in the second bench trial. In this allegation, Mr. Loury, through his expert, claimed that Martin Law Firm should have recalled Mr. Loury to the stand to rebut Mr. Argush’s testimony to allege an alternative theory of damages. Mr. Loury’s expert admitted that the second judge already rejected Mr. Argush's theory and accepted Loury's damages theory. The trial court barred Mr. Loury’s expert and dismissed Loury's counterclaim with prejudice before convening the collection trial, and the jury ruled in Martin Law Firm’s favor. Mr. Loury appealed the trial court's pretrial rulings barring his liability expert from testifying in support of his legal malpractice counterclaim, denying his motion for summary judgment on that counterclaim, and denying his motion to amend his counterclaim by adding attorney Joseph A. Martin as a codefendant. In affirming the trial court’s decision, the Appellate Division held that the trial court properly excluded Loury’s expert testimony in the counterclaim against Martin Law Firm because the expert could not explain how calling Loury as a rebuttal witness would have increased damages when the second judge already rejected Mr. Argush's testimony and accepted Loury's damages theory, making the expert’s causation opinion speculative. The Appellate Division also held that the trial court properly denied Mr. Loury's summary judgment motion on his malpractice counterclaim because reasonable minds could differ on whether Mr. Martin's alleged failures would have changed the second judge's damages award, given the judge already found Mr. Argush not credible, creating genuine factual disputes precluding summary judgment. Also, the Appellate Division held that the trial court properly denied Loury's May 2023 motion to add Joseph Martin individually because the statute of limitations expired in February 2022, six years after the 2016 appellate remand when Mr. Loury incurred new legal costs, and relation back did not apply because Mr. Loury knew Mr. Martin's identity throughout and strategically chose to sue only Martin Law Firm in his 2019 counterclaim.

Event

Pennsylvania Appellate Update 2025-2026

On August 21, 2026, Casey will serve as a panelist for the live webcast program, “Pennsylvania Appellate Update 2025-2026” presented by the Appellate Advocacy Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and Pennsylvania Bar Institute. The program is divided into three parts—Criminal, Civil, and Administrative. Casey will serve as a panelist for the Civil portion, along with Christina McKinley of Blank Rome, Ben Baer of Injury Law Partners, John Masslon of Keller Postman, Jonathan Bruno of Bruno Litigation LLC, and moderator, Ezza Ahmed of Buchanan Ingersoll.  Registration and more information: https://www.pbi.org/product/pennsylvania-appellate-update-2025-2026/

empty courtroom photo

Result

Summary Judgment Secured for Life Insurance Agent

Marshall Dennehey Announces 2026 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

News

Marshall Dennehey Announces 2026 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

blue facade of a hospital sign against blue sky

Result

Defense Verdict in Complex Medical Malpractice Trial

Thought Leadership

A Unified, Single Claim for Damages Requires Apportionment in a Joint Proposal: What the Decision in 'Trace Elements' Means for Property Insurance Claims

Kimberly and Seth, shareholders in the Insurance Services Practice in our Fort Lauderdale office, break down the Florida Supreme Court's decision in 'Trace Elements v. MacKensen' and what it means for property insurance claims in the state. Read the article here.