Timothy G. Parilla considers how prohibiting the assignment of malpractice claims against attorneys may now receive more attention and be reanalyzed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic in his Bloomberg article, “Covid-19 May Mean the End of ‘Lucky Break’ for Attorney Malpractice Claims.”

Courts have routinely permitted the assignment of professional malpractice claims against architects, engineers, and accountants. However, the assignment of these claims against lawyers have generally not been permitted, aside from a few narrow exceptions. Attorneys have benefitted from the prohibition of these claims and they tend to benefit from these “differences.”

Timothy’s article references Kroll v. Cozen O’Connor, an Illinois case centered around the assignment of a legal malpractice claim that was recently dismissed on the basis of a line of cases going back to Goodley v. Wank & Wank, Inc., a long-standing California appellate court opinion. The case centered around the assigned claim as part of a settlement to an employee against his employer’s attorney.  The court refused to create an exception to the long-standing prohibition by dismissing this case.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Timothy suggests an increase in distressed assets sales could be likely. He advises those considering the attainment of such assets to deeply analyze the purchase agreement, and while doing so, decide if the asset might include future legal malpractice claims as this may lead down an unlucky path as times change.  Read more here.

Timothy services his clients in complex commercial disputes including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, product liability, and construction litigation.

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