The Maryland Court of Special Appeals began 2021 with an important decision for landlords. In Davis v. Regency Lane, LLC, 349 Md. App. 187 (2021), the plaintiffs – the families of a tenant and a guest of a tenant, both victims of a tragic mass shooting of six people in the parking lot of an…
While there are many reasons why a person may choose to become a lawyer, great math skills and a love of accounting practices are not typically at the top of the list. In fact, while lawyers often excel at advocating on behalf of clients, analyzing documents, drafting contracts and crafting legal arguments, the same cannot…
In Jacobson Holman PLLC v. Gentner, 244 A.3d 690 (D.C. 2021), the District of Columbia Court of Appeals addressed for the first time “the affirmative reach” of Rule 5.6(a) of the District of Columbia Rules of Professional Conduct’s prohibition on “restrictions” on “the rights of a lawyer to practice” after terminating an employment relationship. In…
Practitioners should consider bifurcating the “trial within a trial” portion of a legal malpractice case to avoid prejudice and promote efficiency. A legal malpractice action arising out of litigation is, in practice, two cases in one. In general terms, a plaintiff must prove both that his or her lawyer failed to meet the standard of…
On April 21, 2021, Eccleston and Wolf attorney Steve Cornelius, along with Deputy Bar Counsel Erin Risch, presented a CLE for the Baltimore County Bar Association on Attorney Grievances: How to Avoid Them and What Happens if You Receive One. The virtual CLE was focused upon the most common rule violations, tips for your practice…
Does Maryland recognize a stand-alone cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty? According to the Maryland Court of Appeals’ recent decision in Plank v. Cherneski, 469 Md. 548, 231 A.3d 436 (2020), “[c]ourts and commentators have been asking this question for 23 years since this Court articulated its holding in Kann v. Kann, 344…
The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently released guidance and standards relating to employee safety in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. These documents outline the most commonly cited issues during inspections since the pandemic began in March of 2020, and provides insight on how employers should be protecting…
On July 9, 2020, Steve Cornelius, Al Frederick and Glenn Grossman from the Law Offices of Eccleston and Wolf, conducted a live webinar with Bar Counsel, Lydia Lawless, for a review of risk avoidance issues and techniques for lawyers on the subjects of social media, liens, escrow management and other topics.