Over the past few years, one of my primary areas of practice has been professional liability. I have represented lawyers and accountants in a wide variety of matters. These cases always provide unique challenges. The claims are negligence based. While negligence is often equated with carelessness, there is more to it. The plaintiff first needs to prove that my client represented them. This is often not disputed. Next, the plaintiff needs to show that my client had a duty to perform a certain task for them. While defining the scope of a professional’s duty should be an easy task, often agreements are not clear as to responsibilities and goals. A large portion of the matters I handle could be avoided if the relationship between the professional and the client in the underlying matter was clearly laid out and communicated.
Mar
13
As Crosby, Stills and Nash Sang: “So We Change Partners, Time to Change Partners, You Must Change Partners!”
Let me tell you a story of two companies: “Transco,” the savvy, cost-conscious, transactional company whose leadership team relies on their expertise to see them through both challenges and good times, and “Stratco,” a long-range-thinking company that focuses on building relationships to advance their business goals through good times and bad.
Mar
13
Sex is Notice: The Cure for Every Adoptive Parent’s Nightmare
As an adoptive parent, I know that the biggest nightmare for parents after finalization of the adoption is the possibility of a birth parent challenging the adoption.
Recently, I had the opportunity to help a couple that had adopted several years earlier, and that was potentially facing just such a challenge. Fortunately, in that case, the court files confirmed unequivocally that the birth partners’ rights were terminated properly, and the adoption could not be overturned. While these types of challenges are rare, there are circumstances where this nightmare can come true. The most common of these circumstances likely is a birth father challenging an adoption because his rights were improperly terminated without his knowledge.
Mar
13
Minimizing Litigation Headaches by Preserving Electronic Data
Companies embroiled in litigation today are increasingly finding that the requirements and burdens of litigation discovery today bear little resemblance to litigation fifteen, or even ten, years ago. As reliance on technology—e-mail, texting, electronically stored data, etc.—continues to grow, discovery has become more time consuming, expensive, confusing and difficult. Courts have begun to impose new requirements on businesses and their counsel to ensure that electronically stored documents and information that may be relevant to potential litigation is protected and preserved. Where companies have, either inadvertently or intentionally, failed to preserve electronic records and data, courts have not hesitated to impose harsh sanctions.
Mar
13
Don’t Forget About Digital Assets in Your Estate Plan
For many of us, our primary means of communication is email. Some of us like to keep in touch with friends and family by sending “tweets” or updating our Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. We store family photos and other important information online, on a website or in the “Cloud.” We access our financial assets, such as bank accounts and brokerage accounts, over the Internet, and in some instances only receive online statements. We pay our bills electronically. We own Internet domain names. We conduct business online.
Oct
17
Business Fundamentals Bootcamp VI, session “The Theatre of the Deal”
I will be speaking at Business Fundamentals Bootcamp VI, session “The Theatre of the Deal,” on October 19, 2012 at the Cambridge Innovation Center.
Oct
12
Advisory Boards, Who Needs Them?
A company’s success depends on people—and not just those who work for it. In a typical corporate situation, the shareholders elect a Board of Directors who hire the officers who actually run the company. But if you are a small closely held company, should you also have an Advisory Board?
Oct
11
Highlights of the Newly Enacted Uniform Trust Code
On July 8, 2012, Massachusetts enacted the Uniform Trust Code (UTC), which codifies the existing laws pertaining to trusts, but also clarifies, simplifies and modernizes the rules governing the administration of trusts. Massachusetts joins more than twenty states in adopting the UTC with the intent of providing trustees with greater flexibility in the administration of trusts, reducing the need for and frequency of court intervention to resolve disputes, and clarifying the rights and powers of trustees and beneficiaries. Read the rest of this entry »
Oct
05
Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late to Hire an Attorney
People often hire an attorney when they are faced with a lawsuit. I can’t count the number of times I have received the phone call where the stressed out person on the other end of the phone is saying, “Help. I got served with papers and I don’t know what to do.” Let’s be clear people, if you are already being served with court papers, you waited too long to call an attorney, and your lawyer is going to have to do some racing around to catch up. Could this situation be costly? Most likely. Could this have been avoided? Almost certainly.
About Our Law Firm
Proactive Consultation and Advice
Konowitz & Greenberg, P.C. is not your average law firm. Our unique approach to law both protects individual and corporate clients in the event of law disputes, as well as provides proactive consultation and advice to clients as they plan for success in their business and personal lives.
