Legal Malpractice: San Francisco, California. February, 2004
Confidential Settlement: $200,000

This case was against a solo practitioner and large local law firm for negligent advice in connection with pursuing a claim against an estate. Our client originally had a claim against a trustee of a retirement plan and retained a solo practitioner to pursue the case. The defendant trustee died during the action, and the attorney failed to file the claim in the deceased trustees probate. The solo practitioner recognized his problem, and to try and correct the wrongdoing brought in a large law firm (and highly regarded attorney) who allegedly failed to pursue a certain course of action which may have mitigated the solo practitioners negligence. The amount of the underlying claim was in sharp dispute, ranging from a low of $150,000, to upwards of $500,000.