Find Lawyers in Minnesota, United States for Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants
Practice Area Overview
While former clients are the most common plaintiffs, lawyers and law firms also can be sued by individuals or entities that they never represented. Former clients typically bring claims for legal malpractice (also known as professional negligence), alleging that a lawyer or law firm failed to properly handle a business transaction, lawsuit or some other matter. Depending on the circumstances, the former client may also assert claims for breach of contract or breach of fiduciary duty. Persons who were never clients of a lawyer may be able to bring a professional negligence or breach of fiduciary duty claim against the lawyer if they can show that they were expected to receive the benefit of a lawyer’s services or were otherwise owed a duty by a lawyer. Lawyers also can be sued for allegedly aiding and abetting torts committed by their clients, such as fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, or malicious prosecution.
Lawyers who sue or defend lawyers and law firms need to have the experience and judgment to assess the strengths and weaknesses of these claims and efficiently manage their litigation. Because legal malpractice plaintiffs are obligated to prove that a lawyer’s conduct fell below the standard of care, which is often the subject of expert testimony, lawyers prosecuting and defending legal malpractice claims must understand the applicable law and make effective use of expert testimony. They must also understand, and critically analyze, the plaintiff’s burden of proving that the lawyer’s or firm’s conduct resulted in actual harm, which in many jurisdictions requires a plaintiff to prove “the case within a case.” Some available defenses are unique to legal malpractice cases. Lawyers handling legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty claims should also have a firm grounding in the ethical rules governing lawyers’ conduct, since such claims often arise from alleged violations of those rules and their assertion may implicate a lawyer’s ethical obligations.
Barry O’Neil is a trial attorney, who is certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the Minnesota State Bar Association. He represents professionals in malpractice claims with an emphasis in legal malpractice. Mr. O’Neil’s practice also involves the resolution of complex commercial disputes, employment-related issues and insurance claims. His commercial litigation experience has included contract, shareholder, partnership and business competition disputes in both trial and arb...
Kelly Putney is a professional liability litigator who has helped clients navigate and prevent malpractice actions for more than 25 years. Also experienced in other types of proceedings including investigations, arbitrations and licensing matters, Ms. Putney is a true professionals’ lawyer, having represented and counseled hundreds of health care providers, lawyers, insurance agents and brokers, real estate agents, architects, and accountants. Most recently, Ms. Putney successfully defe...
Lewis Remele is regarded as one of the leading lawyers in Minnesota, and was the top vote-getter in the annual Minnesota Super Lawyers list in 2001-2005, 2008-2009, 2011-2014, 2016 and 2018. He was named as the 2019 Minneapolis Arbitration Lawyer of the Year, 2009 and 2013 Minneapolis Bet-the-Company Litigator of the Year, and 2012 Legal Malpractice Law–Defendants Lawyer of the Year by The Best Lawyers in America. He is listed in Law and Leading Attorneys and Who’s Who in American...
Aram Desteian represents businesses in complex commercial litigation, and also counsels and defends other lawyers against a spectrum of professional liability claims. Aram Desteian’s commercial litigation practice includes representing businesses in a wide range of business disputes. As a professional liability attorney, he regularly helps other lawyers prevent and navigate lawsuits, investigations, board proceedings, and hearings involving legal ethics, legal malpractice, and other are...
Michelle is a litigation associate with a practice focusing on appeals. Before joining Lommen Abdo, Michelle clerked at the Minnesota Supreme Court where she worked closely with the justices on a variety of criminal, civil, and administrative matters, and gained valuable insight into the process by which appellate courts decide cases. Her clerking experience provides an excellent foundation for an appellate practice. Michelle will also assist in handling a variety of other litigation matters,...
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