Professional Liability and Malpractice

It can take years of hard work for a professional to earn a favorable reputation among colleagues and clients.  All this can be jeopardized when someone challenges the professional’s judgment, competence, or skill.  Morris & Morris understands the importance to a professional of this type of claim, and we have a team ready to respond aggressively on behalf of our client.  Our team is highly experienced in the defense of professionals, aggressive in vindicating our clients, and capable of resolving the matter favorably in venue.

We have a team that regularly represents many different types of professionals and their businesses including, for example, lawyers, law firms, securities brokers, real estate agents, architects, engineers, dentists, nurses, doctors, and health care professionals.  Each of the members of our team is an experienced trial lawyer knowledgeable about the unique legal issues that arise in the defense of professionals in these industries.  In addition, one of the members of our team was formerly counsel to the Virginia Department of Health Professions and, as a result, brings unique insight to the defense of medical doctors, dentists, nurses, optometrists, psychologists, and pharmacists.

We work hard to get the best result for our client, whether settlement or through trial of the matter before a jury, arbitration panel, or licensing agency.  One of the strengths of our team is its extensive trial experience defending professionals in these forums.  Claims against professionals can be brought in very different forums, including, for example, before a jury in a circuit court, before a licensing agency, before an arbitration panel, or before a disciplinary committee.  Each one has unique characteristics and, since not all claims settle, the lawyer defending a professional must have significant trial skills.  Our experiences successfully trying cases, and the reputation we have earned as a result of doing so, have significant benefits to our clients.  They help us obtain the best offer of settlement since our opposition knows that we are capable of defending the matter to the end.  It also means that if we cannot settle, our client can be confident that our team will have the experience and ability to aggressively put forward the best defense possible to reach a successful result in any adversary proceeding.

Representative Recent Engagements:

Some examples of representative engagements include the following:

• We represented at trial a lawyer accused of malpractice in estate planning.

• We represented two lawyers accused of malpractice in drafting and advising clients as part of the sale of a business.

• We represented a lawyer accused of various ethical violations before the Virginia State Bar.

• We represented at trial several real estate agents and their firm over a disputed commission.

• We represented in an arbitration a securities broker concerning the payment of a bonus.

• We represented a dentist accused of various licensing infractions before the Department of Health Professions.

• We represented a securities firm against allegations arising out of non-competition agreements.