Find Lawyers in Louisiana, 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.
Mr. Brown heads the firm’s Commercial Litigation Section as well as its Professional Liability Practice Group. He is a member of the firm’s Board of Directors and serves as the firm’s Loss Prevention Partner. His practice focuses on complex litigation, including banking and contract disputes, professional liability litigation, legal malpractice defense, antitrust litigation, trusts and estates litigation, First Amendment litigation, and Education law. For over two decades, Mr. Brown has succe...
Beverly DeLaune handles professional liability matters for accountants, lawyers, insurance agents and brokers. Beverly assists her clients in responding to disciplinary complaints and professional liability lawsuits, as well as providing assistance addressing pre-litigation concerns. Beverly DeLaune handles professional liability matters for accountants, lawyers, insurance agents and brokers. Beverly assists her clients in responding to disciplinary complaints and professional liability lawsu...
A partner of Montgomery Barnett Daniel Lund has been engaged in general civil practice since 1963, with a concentration in trial and appellate practice in a variety of fields. These include antitrust and trade regulation, banking, business, contract, construction, environmental, executive employment, insurance defense, labor, legal malpractice, oil and gas, product liability, securities, trade secrets, transportation, and tort. Mr. Lund also has extensive experience in agency and private arbi...
Mr. Orlansky concentrates his practice in the areas of business litigation, gaming law, and professional liability and ethics. He chairs the firm's Gaming Practice, is a member of the firm's Management Committee, and serves as the firm's loss prevention and ethics counsel. Mr. Orlansky joined Stone Pigman in 1984.
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