Professional Liability

Representative Matters Defending Attorneys and Law Firms

• Lead trial counsel for a large national law firm in defense of malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, and civil RICO in federal court. After formally invoking Rule 11, plaintiff's counsel agreed to voluntarily dismiss our client without the payment of any consideration.
• More than 75 legal malpractice claims seeking millions of dollars in damages and related civil and criminal enforcement actions pertaining to tax shelter structuring work performed by a national law firm.
• Representation of an AmLaw 50 law firm in defense of legal malpractice claim arising out of the law firm's provision of patent prosecution services. Obtained summary judgment in client's favor on one of two claims and reached favorable settlement on remaining claim. 
• Legal malpractice claim seeking $100 million in damages brought by an entrepreneur against a national law firm that assisted in the structuring of the sale of his company to an entity that ultimately went bankrupt. Case involved complex issues of bankruptcy, patent law, and secured property law in addition to professional standard of care issues. 
• Professional malpractice claim brought by a US insurance company against its former lawyers alleging defendants aided and abetted corporate officers in executing self-dealing transactions and excessive executive compensation scheme.
• Congressional investigation of a major national law firm relating to lobbying activities of client’s former partners and related civil claims and grand jury investigations. 
• Representation of an AmLaw 50 law firm in connection with internal investigation of potential billing irregularities and associated ethical and client issues.

Representative Matters Defending Accounting Firms

• Class action securities and professional malpractice litigation arising from the bankruptcy of a major national homebuilder. Alleging errors in accounting for net realizable value write-offs and deferred tax asset estimates among other issues, plaintiffs sought $95 million in actual damages and $1 billion in punitive damages. After a 66-day jury trial, the matter ended in a defense verdict. Steptoe also represented the firm and two of its partners in related State Board of Accountancy proceedings.

Other Matters

• National counsel to financial services firm against class action and individual lawsuits involving RICO, fraud, and other state law claims brought by clients who participated in alleged tax shelters.
• Professional malpractice stockholder lawsuit arising out of the failure of a life insurance company and an associated insurance service agency involving alleged failures in accounting for life insurance premiums and calculating required reserves. 
• Professional malpractice action brought by foreign investors in British Virgin Islands corporations that owned US real estate, alleging professional negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and racketeering arising from alleged improper disclosures regarding asset sales, erroneous financial statements, and erroneous tax planning and advice. 
• Professional malpractice action filed by a bankruptcy trustee of a NASDAQ-listed national distributor of personal care products. Plaintiff sought more than $100 million in damages, alleging the improper auditing and application of revenue recognition criteria and errors in the installation of a major ERP system impacting financial statements, customer relationship management, and supply chain management.