In the case of Maroulis v Friedman, Maroulis retained Attorney Friedman in a divorce proceeding in June of 2010. In November 2011 Maroulis dismissed attorney Friedman and hired another law firm. In July 2012, Maroulis settled the divorce action.
In October 2014, Maroulis sued Friedman for malpractice and emotional distress. This case was dismissed by summary judgement and appealed by the plaintiff. The appellate court up upheld the dismissal.
It is important to remember that whether there is attorney malpractice or not an attorney can be sued. Even the best of attorneys can get the wrong client. The case may be dismissed, but there are still defense costs that can mount, especially if the case is appealed. An important component of an attorney malpractice policy is providing defense costs for the attorney. Another coverage that family law attorneys need to consider is ‘1st dollar defense’ or a ‘loss only deductible’, so that the attorney when faced is faced with a meritless case, the attorney has no out of pocket costs.
For better or worse attorneys need a properly endorsed attorney malpractice insurance policy to protect their assets.